To Corrupt an Angel
by Dragoler
Summary: Pacifist and Genocide spoilers. He had died, their plan had failed, but somehow he'd woken up... and now he was a flower? This is a prequel story to explore Asriel's journey from a well meaning child to the murderous flower we all know and 'love' in-game. Current stage: Pacifist.
1. Awakening

The injured monster ran as fast as he could, clutching the dead child tightly in his arms. Several loud bangs signaled a flurry of bullets which barely cleared his ears, making them ring painfully.

"Who or WHAT ever you are. Drop the body now or we will take you down by force!"

The monster kept running, there was another hail of bullets. These were not like monster bullets, these were faster, louder and-

-a bullet hit him square in the back, he recoiled in pain. _Physical!_

 _Stop holding me back!_

 _No._

 _You are going to get us killed._

 _I won't fight them._

 _Stop being such a wuss!_

 _No._

 _This isn't the time to get on your high horse, this is kill or BE killed! They aren't going to show us any mercy, so why should we show any to THEM?_

 _I told you, I changed my mind. I'm not hurting anyone... I can't... I refuse!_

 _You're an idiot._

Another bullet hit it's mark, this time it pierced his chest, passing straight through his soul.

"ARRchh!"

His knees faltered and his grip on the child slipped, he nearly dropped them.

 _We can't take much more of this..._

Gritting his teeth, the monster picked himself up and lunged the last few steps through the barrier and back into the Underground.

The castle was eerily quite, a sainted silence broken when the throne room doors were slammed wide open. The king and queen could only watch in horror as the young prince burst through in a sparkling trail of dust and collapsed into the dirt, his dead sibling still in his arms.

* * *

A strange language drifted through the void but faded, decaying away until it was completely lost from memory. He became aware of the blackness. Slowly, lucidity brought confusion... slower still, recollection. Scattered memories that flickered briefly in and out of his mind. Names, faces, voices... his own death... _what?_

Asriel felt like he'd just woken from a very long and deep sleep, his head was swimming. Groggily, he opened his eyes and squinted, unprepared for the sudden assault on his vision. It took a few seconds for his head to clear and his sight to start to adjust... that was when he noticed something wasn't right.

Why did he feel so small? He tried to stand up but nothing happened. He tried to move his legs, then his arms but the same thing, nothing. Asriel couldn't feel any of his limbs. As panic began to rise, he gathered up what courage he had, to turn his head and look down.

Something gold swayed on the edge of his vision and a sickening wave of dizziness washed over him. In place of his body, all he found was a simple, green plant stem.

"Mom! Dad! Somebody help me!" His called out, but the voice he heard was high pitched and oddly dual-toned. Not his own.

 _This isn't me, this isn't me..._

The body, the voice, the smallness... everything was wrong! Asriel's mind was quickly descending into chaos. His world was crumbling around him and... and he was all alone. He pleaded internally for someone... anyone to come and take this nightmare away. To tell him that this was all just a bad dream, that he would wake up in his bedroom and his best friend would be sleeping in the bed beside his, they could tell him a story and they would both laugh about how silly he was being right now.

But nobody came.

"Chara!... please-" He cried out on instinct, but the words had barely crossed his lips before he remembered the truth and his blood ran cold. Chara was dead. His very last memories were of holding their body before he...

 _I died, i'm dead...I_ should _be dead... so why am I a flower?_

"Mom... dad... anyone, please..." This too much. Moisture was building up in his eyes. Asriel hadn't paid much attention to where he'd woken up, but now all he could see was a blur. The shock was sending tremors through his body and he didn't even bother fighting them. Before too long the tears were rolling down his petals and splashing against the soil below...

In this swirling haze he thought back to that terrible night... his last night. Chara's final act of sacrifice had been heartbreaking, he felt like he could have died then and there if it hadn't been for the warm embrace of their soul inside him, pushing him onward and whispering reassuring words of encouragement. After they crossed the barrier, finding the human village had gone without incident. The air had been crisp and cool, stars shone above like the glittering gemstones of Waterfall; he had to pause by the flowers, just to admire them. That moment, that brief lick of freedom, just for them, before they were to free everyone... and then... then things started going wrong. That scream. It was becoming too painful so Asriel forced himself to stop thinking about it.

But Charas words refused to leave. They repeated themselves over and over in his head like a broken record...

 _You want to free everyone don't you?_

 _Why not? He deserves it._

 _You are going to get us killed._

 _You're an idiot._

 _No! I did the right thing! I'm not an idiot Chara... I..._

 _Little brother... you do remember our agreement, don't you?_

"Hello? Is somebody here? Do not be afraid, I am here if you need someone to talk to... or just an ear to listen."

Asriel was unsure for how long he'd been crying, but like the breaking of a spell the familiar voice snapped him back to reality.

"Dad!" He turned to face the voice. "It's m-me, Asriel! Dad I- I don't know what happened to m-me! Please help! I'm s-so... scared!"

"Son?!" King Asgore stood dumbstruck. "Is it really you? H-"

"It's my fault! I-It's all my s-stupid fault! W-we went to the surface to collect six more souls s-so we could free everyone but..." Asriel gasped between sobs "I-I couldn't do it, I couldn't go through with the plan! I-I didn't want to hurt anybody... I couldn't! And... and now i'm a flower!"

Asgore rushed to his son's side and wrapped his arms around him, tears streaming down his face. Asriel, still trembling, was uncomfortable with how small he felt in the king's embrace.

"There, there. Everything is going to be alright." Asgore sobbed, a big smile on his face. "You came back to us, that is all that matters."

Asriel suddenly really wished that his father would let go. Something didn't feel right.

"Dad."

"Yes son?"

"I want to see mom."

Asgore stiffened, more tears welled up in his eyes "Some day you will, but not today. Sorry son."

He took a long moment to compose himself again. He pushed himself to his feet and wiped the remaining tears from his face all while he looked down at Asriel as though he'd been granted a thousand wishes in a single moment.

"Asriel... I need to go speak to Dr. Alphys, but I will be back as soon as I can. I love you, I will never let anything bad happen to you again. I promise." With one final hug, Asgore was gone.

Asriel stared after him. His shock had worn off, if only to be replaced by confusion. He should have felt happy to see his father again, to not to be alone anymore. He should have been comforted, but he wasn't. He shook his head, his mind was in no state to ponder it at the moment. Instead, Asriel decided to finally figure out where he was, something which he could now do, having cried himself dry...

He was planted in the middle of the throne room, his father had once tended to many kinds of plants here. Now the only flowers growing were large and golden, the same kind that grew in Chara's village. There was another big change too, now only one throne sat in the garden, the other had been covered by a sheet and put to the side.

The sight brought back an old memory. Asriel closed his eyes, letting his mind escape to a happier time. Shortly after Chara had fallen and the kingdom was filled with hope, the garden had been in full bloom, it was the most beautiful he'd ever seen it. His parents were sat upon their thrones enjoying the summer warmth and he'd ran to them with his newest art project in his hands.

 _"Mom, dad, I made something for you! ... Do you like it?"_

His slightly younger self held up a distorted piece of paper for his parents to see. They were beaming down at him, and he was smiling back.

 _"Howdy son! let me see... this is very good, did it take you long to make?"_

 _"About an hour... and a few minutes for the glue to dry."_

 _"Are you sure you waited long enough? Some of the macaroni is coming unstuck."_

 _"Really?!"_

He turned the paper around, it was a picture of an angel among a field of stars made from pasta and glitter. Several pieces of the pasta were sliding down the page.

 _"Oh no!"_

 _"Don't worry little one, we can fix it. Gory dear, you will be able to manage without me for a little while, right?"_ Her voice was playful.

 _"I think I can handle myself just fine for a few minutes, thank you."_ his dad retorted with faux indignation.

 _"Come Asriel, I know a way to make the glue set quickly, then we can impress your friends with your_ star _-tling artistic skills!"_

 _"Mom!"_

...

He chocked back the bittersweet nostalgia. It was nice to take comfort in the familiar, to pretend that things are still as they were.

But he knew that he could never go back, as much as he wished he could. It was almost funny in a strange sort of way that he couldn't explain. _Oh_ , he thought bitterly, _how things change..._


	2. Day One

When the king returned he came bearing gifts. He brought a large box filled with several of Asriel and Chara's old toys and possessions, among them were the presents they had gifted to each other the day before their deaths, still unopened. Asgore also promised to make him butterscotch pie that night, the same way his mother used to make it. Asriel knew that his father was a poor cook, but feigned gratitude for the gesture anyway. He decided not to open the gifts; the memories were still too fresh and painful. Instead he looked through his other old things. They were a little dusty, but otherwise exactly as he remembered them.

As Asgore brought each item out for him to see, a question started to burn in his mind. He really wasn't looking forward to knowing the answer, but it had to be asked. "Dad." He said, drawing the king's attention. "How long have I been gone for?"

Asgore, who was sitting among the golden flowers shifted as though suddenly uncomfortable. "Are you sure you want to talk about that now son?" He asked, quickly putting his hand in the box to draw out another item. "How about we-"

"Please dad. I need to know." Asriel cut him off. He wasn't about to let Asgore avoid answering, not after what he'd just been through. He needed the truth.

"Golly, urm..." Asgore broke eye contact, choosing instead to glance at every other flower in the room. "You know, I am really bad at keeping time..." He closed his eyes. "... It must have been almost a hundred years now, since we lost you."

Asriel watched him in silence. The time passed since his death was hard to comprehend, his mind didn't even want to try to understand it. All he could think about right now was how pitiful his father looked, how he sat there, head bowed among the flowers. How long had he been all alone in this castle? Asriel had been sat in the garden long enough to put two and two together, he knew that his mother no longer lived here but for how long she'd been gone he couldn't say. Looking at Asgore right now, he knew that his question must have reminded him of the loneliness, of the pain and yet... Asriel felt nothing.

His eye's widened. He should be feeling bad, he should want to rush up to his father with arms wide open and wrap him up in a big warm hug. He should want to bury his head under Asgore's ear and tell him how sorry he was, how much he missed him but... he didn't. He just didn't care... he didn't care. He had no feelings towards his father at all. No matter what Asgore did, no matter what Asriel did, all he felt was empty.

His compassion was gone.

Asriel shook his head, fighting back the surge of despair stirring deep within his stem. No. It was the shock. He'd gone through a something traumatic and would need time to recover. People go a bit screwy when things like that happened, he knew that, he'd seen it first hand but it always settles down in the end. Things would straighten themselves out in time, he just had to stay determined to get through it.

Asgore was looking his way again, Asriel gave him a patient smile. "Wow, that's a really long time... i'm sorry."

"No, no. You don't have to apologize for anything!" He picked a book out of the box. "Now, I remembered how much you liked to play games, so I thought you might appreciate this. It's a 'chose your own adventure' book! Would you like me to read it with you?"

The title read 'Raskel's Journey', it was not a book Asriel had ever seen before. He nodded and Asgore shifted to sit beside him and opened the book to the first page.

"Raskel was the second child to the rather strange family who lived in the fourth house of Capital Street, he was also a known troublemaker." Asgore read aloud. "Everyday he would sneak out of the city to play in the ruins. The ruins were quiet and almost completely deserted, what few monsters still lived there never paid much attention to him, so he was free to do as he pleased.

"One day, while playing in the ruins with his toy sword and pirate hat while pretending to be the great skeleton pirate 'Bonebeard', Raskel accidentally pressed a switch at the bottom of a pile of dried leaves. The far wall shifted and a new passageway opened up. Enter the strange passageway?"

"Enter the passageway." Asriel confirmed, feeling thankful for the distraction.

He decided to look around while Asgore made a note of the page number and started flicking through the book. He noticed movement out the corner of his eye, a monster was standing in the doorway.

"Dad, I think someone's here to see you."

Asgore looked up and practically beamed with joy when he spotted the visitor. "Dr. Alphys, It is a pleasure to see you again on this fine day! Asriel and I have just started reading this book, would you like to join us?"

Alphys stepped tentatively into the light. She was a somewhat dumpy looking yellow lizard monster who wore a dirty lab coat and spectacles. She was staring directly at Asriel, her expression was filled with apprehension and perhaps a twinge of... fear? Fear? What would she have to be afraid of here? Perhaps it was just his imagination.

"N-no, that is alright Sire, er Asgore. After you told me the good news I decided I should come as soon as possible... to make sure he's okay... but i-if you're busy right now I can come back another time..." She really didn't look like she wanted to be here.

"Oh not at all. I just thought you said you would be too busy to come today?"

"I made time. This seemed too important to put off." Her body language seemed to be at odds with her words. She shifted her feet and turned her gaze downwards, looking as though she might bolt at any moment.

Asgore either didn't notice or completely ignored her nervous signals. "Thank you doctor. You really are thoughtful for taking the time out of your busy schedule for this." Something seemed to occur to him and he looked at Asriel with a frown of uncertainty. "This won't be too demanding on him, will it?"

"Oh gosh no!" Alphys said quickly. "Just a quick once over, to make sure he isn't suffering from any unpleasant side-effects from his revival... heh... heh..." She tried to laugh it off, but she just ended up sounding nervous.

Asgore turned to Asriel with an expression of assurance and put on the voice he always used when trying to make him feel safe. "The good doctor needs to check you to make sure you are healthy, okay? Nothing bad will happen. I promise."

Far from helping him relax, Asgore's soft and slightly condescending tone instead made Asriel feel even more apprehensive than he did before, but he nodded anyway. Regardless of how he felt, the unease and even the tinge of panic welling up inside him, he knew that letting Alphys examine him would be for the best.

Asgore put the book down and stepped to the side to let her approach. She sat down beside Asriel and carefully checked over his body while holding her hands deliberately behind her back.

While he was grateful for the lack of physical contact, he couldn't help but find it suspicious and unnerving. Did she think he was contagious?

"He seems to be a perfectly healthy flower..." Alphys' eyes darted awkwardly between him and Asgore "heh..."

Asgore stood over the two stroking his beard thoughtfully. "Do you need to carry out any further tests, doctor?"

"I-" She looked down at Asriel again... wait, was that, _guilt_ on her face? "To be on the safe side, I should probably check back in a few days."

Asgore nodded. "Of course. Whatever you think is best."

"A-anyway, I should really get back to my work now... goodbye Asgore and A-Asriel." She got up quickly and barely wasted time on a wave before hurrying out the door.

"Goodbye Dr. Alphys." Asgore called after her, but she was already gone. He sat back down in his story-reading spot. "She's the Royal Scientist." He said while picking the book off the ground and shaking away the dirt. "She's working on a way to break the barrier. Hopefully she will make a breakthrough soon." He looked down at the cover of the book, his eyes glazed over. The next words he said were more to himself than anyone else. "She works so hard."

Alphys was the Royal Scientist? Huh, this was interesting. It used to be well known that the Gaster lineage always filled that role. Their family was renowned for scientific prowess, in fact many kids in his class used to aspire to work under them... wow, most of them would be dead by now...

"Anyway, where were we? Ah yes, the strange passageway. Here we go-" Thank goodness for distractions.

The story followed a young monster through an adventure to the surface and his attempts to escape back to the safety of the Underground. After they had died for the fifth time - this time from falling into a trap while attempting to befriend a human using a daisy-chain bracelet - the two gave up on the book for the day. With the light from the high cavern roof waning, Asgore left the garden, vowing to return with his promised pie.

The thought occurred to Asriel that, being a flower, he might not even be capable of eating the pie. He even considered using that as an excuse to not even try Asgore's notorious cooking, but decided against it. He would try it to make his dad happy.

The smell of the burnt pie crust reached him before he'd even heard Asgore's footsteps. The king sat down and set the plates out in front of them. The bottom of the crust was almost completely black, but the filling looked good... if only he could smell it over the overpowering stench of burn!

Asriel looked down at the pie, then up at Asgore, then down at the pie again. He could see a slight problem here...

"Is something the problem son? Oh!" Asgore picked up his fork and cut a piece of Asriel's pie and held it to his mouth.

He felt incredibly embarrassed as he took a bite from the fork. Well, at least this was better than putting his whole face in...

"How do you like it?" Asgore watched him eagerly with that big dopey grin on his face.

The texture was mushy, he couldn't taste anything...

"Good." Asriel lied, then added "No, that's Okay. I don't think I could manage any more right now..." when Asgore started to cut him another piece.

Asgore nodded and scooped up a slice of his own pie and put it in his mouth. After a few moments of eating in silence he decided to speak up again. "Tomorrow, I am going to announce your return to the Underground. I will not force you to make a speech, you don't need to say anything at all. Don't worry."

Asriel felt slightly uncomfortable. He was by no means a stranger to attention, but this... this all seemed a bit much so soon after... well...

"Your returning will bring everyone so much hope!" Asgore added after finishing another mouthful. He looked so happy.

Asriel simply nodded, what else could he do? There wasn't anything more to say.


	3. A Bit Surreal

_Wow, the air is so fresh! You lived with this?_

 _Stay on task! There's time to enjoy it later._

 _... Chara?_

 _Yes, little brother?_

 _Are you sure we have to do it this way?_

 _You want to free everyone don't you?_

 _... Yes._

 _Then yes, we have to do it this way. We are the only ones who can, they are all counting on us, remember?_

 _..._

 _... Look, if it makes you feel any better, i'll do it, okay? All you need to do is stand back and... let it happen. Can you manage that?_

 _... Yes Chara._

 _I promise I will make it quick. I won't let anyone hurt you, Asriel._

* * *

The following morning Asgore televised the announcement of Asriel's return to the entire Underground. Within less than an hour monsters from all around were flocking to the castle to meet with the Flower Prince; it was overwhelming. At first, Asgore and the Royal Guards had to hold them back, that was until Asriel said he would agree to meet them. One at a time.

With the exception one strongly insistent robot who attempted to get an entire film crew through the castle gates, everything went smoothly. Many of the monsters brought gifts: assortments of sweets and candies, bullet-pattern cards... flowers. They sat down before Asriel as though he were some kind of sacred relic and told him about their lives. Many talked about relatives and close friends who had 'falling down' from despair and how his return had given them hope for the future. That if he could come back from the dead, then they had to believe that anything could be possible...

It made him feel bad. He really, REALLY wished that he could care, but after the twentieth sob story they all just kinda mushed together in his head. They reminded him of his failure... but most of all he was mad at himself for his own apathy.

As the day drew to a close, Asgore ushered everyone away from the garden. He walked back to Asriel, beaming from ear to ear. "You have made a great many people happy today! I told you you would bring them hope."

Asriel looked at the large pile of gifts, it all felt a bit surreal. He needed a distraction. "Dad, can we finish that story?"

"Of course son, I will go fetch the book now." Asgore turned to leave, but glanced back to give Asriel another warm smile before he crossed the threshold.

With Asgore gone, Asriel's attention drifted across the pile of gifts again, and a card caught his eye. It was purple with 'Happy Rebirthday' written on the front in pink gel pen and patterned with heart and kitty-cat face shaped holes. It was too far away for Asriel to make out any names, but the patterns got him thinking.

Monsters had always had a natural affinity for magic; being constructed of it, they even expressed themselves through it. Before his death, Asriel had been learning to use his magic. Being a boss monster, this magic had molded itself into the form of fire. But now he found himself in a body that was not made of magic, but physical matter, like a humans...

It wasn't impossible for a physical being to use magic. The story of the war and raising of the barrier by the seven human mages had been told to children at a very young age. It got him wondering how long it might take to re-learn the use of magic, and when he did, what form it would take?

Before his train of thought could go any further Asgore reappeared in the doorway with the adventure book tucked under his arm. Asriel mirrored his smile as he sat down and they picked up the story from where they'd left off the previous day.

This time they only died once, having put their faith in Raskel's older sister, Ariah, and her suggestion to cross a century old bridge. Needless to say, the bridge had snapped when they were halfway across and plunged them both into a bottomless pit. Why were there always bottomless pits? After that it turned out that there wasn't much of the story left to read and very soon it was all over.

"That was a lot of fun." Asgore said while standing up and brushing off the dirt. He turned to Asriel with a twinge of concern. "You didn't eat much yesterday, would you like me to bring you anything?"

Asriel shook his head, he didn't seem to need food.

"Very well." Asgore nodded perhaps a tad reluctantly. "Then I will bid you a good night. Pleasant dreams son." He gave Asriel a goodbye hug and started towards the door.

Asriel watched him go, but his eyes came to rest on the book under his arm. He was so disappointed that the story was over already, there must be more to see, surely? "Wait." He called out. Asgore stopped. "Could you leave the book here, please?"

The king looked at him questioningly, but shrugged and turned back. "If that is what you wish." He placed the book down just close enough for him to read the cover.

He smiled graciously at his father. "Thanks, dad."

Asgore nodded and walked away, turning to call back a quick "Goodnight." as he reached the door before stepping through.

Alone again, but this time Asriel had the book! He gazed longingly at the cover, he very much wanted to see what other paths they could have taken, how many different ways there were to "end". Of course, without arms he only had one way to find out. Magic.

Closing his eyes, he concentrated hard on remembering what his mother had told him all that time ago...

".. _.Now, feel deep down, and look for your essence. When you find it, grasp it in your mind and imagine it in front of you._ "

Asriel felt deep but could only find a void. Frustrated and more than a little confused, he tried again but no matter how hard he looked, he couldn't find that part of him that once powered his magic. Not to be defeated, he supposed that he could try and grasp onto something else... his determination to succeed was pretty strong, so he latched onto it.

" _Okay, good. Now think about your_ **intention** _. Intention is key to controlling your magic. Focus your will onto the fireplace..._ "

He summoned up all of his determination, focused on the book and willed his magic to bring it to him.

Nothing happened.

Maybe it needed more information? He visualized a pair of hands and tried again.

Nothing happened.

Grumbling, he let his mind wander. An image of a vine bursting from the ground popped into his head... hmm, could that work? He focused his determination again, this time there was a quiet rumbling sound and a a leafy vine broke through the soil in front of him. It stood, swaying lazily as if watching, waiting for its next command.

Asriel, who had been taken by surprise was ecstatic at his success! He mentally ordered the vine to pick up the book and bring it to him. It obeyed without question, holding the old paperback unsteadily. Coordination would need some work, but this was an excellent start! He manipulated a tendril to open it up to the first page and read the dedication.

"To Prince Asriel and the Fallen Human, taken from us tragically at ages nine and ten."

... On second thought, maybe the book could wait until later.

He turned his attention again to the large pile of gifts. Looking carefully over the assortment, he picked something out that looked like it contained chocolates and instructed his vine to collect it. The floral appendage stretched out effortlessly, coiled around the box and carried it back to it's master. Opening the box released a truly delectable aroma, Chara would have loved these! With calculated precision he maneuvered the tendrils of his vine around one of the sweet treats and carefully lifted it out of it's casing and into his mouth.

He still couldn't taste anything.

Oh well... it was a bit of a dampener on his otherwise good mood, the first good mood he'd been in since his resurrection in fact... but he didn't let it get him down.

With food out of the question, he decided to investigate the oddities in the pile. Squinting, he could make out... a couple of hand carved knick-knacks, a painting, a bracelet and... was that a plant pot? He summoned a second vine and used the two together to fish it out - Asriel was pleased by how quickly he was becoming accustomed to this new magic.

The vines dragged the object into his view. Yes, it was indeed a plant pot, a very well crafted one at that with intricate patterns adorned on the sides and the makers initials debossed into the base. Looking at it made him feel uncomfortable.

"that's a nice pot you got there. if you gave it a chance, i'm sure you could _grow_ to like it." Asriel spun around. A short monster stood in the doorway, silhouetted by the long shadows of the fading evening light. "sorry pal, didn't mean to startle you." The monster said casually.

"No one is supposed to be here right now!" Asriel snapped back. Not only was this intrusion rude, but it also made him feel vulnerable.

The monster just shrugged. "i work in the church down the hall, just finished up and thought i should come by and say hi. the name's sans by the way, sans the skeleton."

Sans stepped into the light. He wore very informal attire for a supposed holy man who'd just come off duty. He was also grinning.

Asriel narrowed his eyes. "Asriel... though I suppose everyone knows my name by now. Was that the only reason you came to see me? To say 'Hello'?"

Sans gave no reaction. "well, an old colleague of mine seemed a little concerned about you so i said i would pay you a visit for her sake. but with you being the new star of the underground and me being so busy, this was the first chance i got. so, sorry about that."

"Does da- the king know you're here?"

"nope."

"Then i'll tell him." Asriel attempting to look stern, but it didn't seem to work.

"you could, i guess..." Sans' pin-prick pupils flicked away for a moment and he sighed. "look, i know everything must be pretty overwhelming for you right now, you're probably feelin' like the next big fad that'll be dropped in a week so i just wanted you to know something. there are people out there who really, genuinely, _care_ about you. even if it doesn't _feel_ like it sometimes."

Why was he telling him this?

"so yeah... be good, okay kid?" And with that, Sans strolled out the door and vanished.

Asriel stared after him for what felt like an eternity. Something about that skeleton was oddly unnerving, and it wasn't just that he'd appeared when no one else was around. He didn't need anyone to tell him that they cared, everyone was already doing that... and yet, he got the impression that this monster, Sans, knew more than he was letting on.

A shadow drifted overhead and Asriel remembered he was still holding onto the plant pot. He looked at it, then turned away. He would never accept it. Being a flower was humiliating enough without also being made into a pot plant. Like being someones pet... even if he would be staying with Asgore...

A potted plant pet... Ha ha... ha... Asriel looked down at the ground with a sigh. How could he fit into this new mold? What exactly did people expect from him now, anyway? It all just felt like he was playing along to a script that he didn't really care about, all based on a promise that he was steadily losing faith in...

His eye's widened and he fought back a twisting sensation building up inside him. No. He remembered when his family had moved out of the old house in Home and into their New Home castle. At first it'd felt strange and daunting, he missed his old home and the familiar streets, but just like his parents had told him he would, he had adjusted. He would do the same here, too.

Asriel put the pot down and dismissed his vines, they slithered silently back into the ground.

Give it a week.


	4. Enough

The following day, the Royal Guards had been instructed not to allow anyone into the castle so that Asriel could have a much needed break. Asgore arrived in the garden early that morning holding a large pile of letters; it appeared that many of the monsters who didn't come to meet the prince in person had instead sent in fan mail. Asriel didn't bother to read them, he also decided not to mention the strange encounter he'd had the previous night. What good would it do? Besides, that skeleton unsettled him in ways he still couldn't quite figure out.

The two spent the entire day together. Asriel showed off his new magic and Asgore beamed, showering him in praise and telling him how 'proud' he was. Asriel tried to feel his father's pride, faking a smile, hoping it would help bring out a spark of emotion...

They played catch until midday, then Asgore brought over an old board-game and they played that until the evening. They ended the day with a bedtime story.

The next day Dr. Alphys came to inspect Asriel thoroughly. She brought actual equipment with her this time: gloves, graspers, little magnifying glasses and some strange device that resembled an animal skull with a display on the front. She was trembling the entire time, but gave him a clean bill of health. After she'd left, Asgore asked if he wanted to be moved into the house. He declined the offer. If he had to be stuck anywhere, he would rather be where he already was; in one of the few parts of the Underground which got real sunlight.

Asriel's fondest memories had been from playing in this garden with his best friend, wresting and tumbling in the flowerbed. As the days slipped by he thought back to those times more and more. It was a bittersweet and painful escape, but with his growing frustration in Asgore his mind couldn't help but go there. He'd loved his father and Asgore was doing his best to try to make him happy. It wasn't fair to feel this way... he knew it wasn't... it was Asriel who couldn't reflect that love anymore. But... Asgore had never understood him like Chara had...

The days stretched into weeks. The fan letters died down to a slow trickle; no one was talking about him anymore. It should have been a relief, but the letters had become a valuable distraction. Asgore came to him every day, smiling and carrying something new for them to try out. He was sick of seeing it. He laughed at every joke, he smiled at every compliment, he tried so so SO HARD! But now, each time he saw that smile it cut him like daggers, like a cruel trick played specifically to taunt him.

Enough...

Asriel stewed under the ethereal moonlight. Ever since his father had bid him goodnight his mind had been racing through plans to escape. Most were fantasies borne out of desperation, but one thought he clung to with all his hope. He had become very good at using magic to manipulate plant matter, so what if he tried turning it on his own body?

The risk was worth it...

Asriel closed his eyes and pulled his attention inward, moving down his stem and feeling for the roots which bound him down. Then he focused his determination and willed them to move as the vines had. The roots shifted and twitched restlessly, eager to be put to new use. His face lit up with relief and he made a conscious effort to rein the roots in. Once firmly under his control, he dig out a small hollow in the dirt, then pulled himself down.

With everyone knowing his name, it would be too risky attempting to flee normally. The best way to escape undetected would be to burrow underground. He was a plant, plants did that already... kinda... so this should work, right?

He kept his eyes closed, there was nothing to see down here. Instead he extended his magic outward, calling to every patch of flora within his range - which was surprisingly expansive. They showed up like blips on a radar screen, piece by piece helping him to form a mental map of the terrain to navigate by.

The castle was well defined by the vines of climbing plants, beyond that was a veritable ocean of nothing. The Capitol must have very little room for gardens. Concentrating hard, he spotted an island in the otherwise barren terrain which was far outside the castle's boundaries. It would be as good a place as any to start, he started digging.

Roots were built for burrowing. Asriel found that he could move through the soil far easier than he had swum through water in life... not that he'd gone swimming all that often, wet fur was incredibly uncomfortable! The soft dirt quickly gave way to solid rock, even then his roots and vines made light work of breaking through it. Plant matter was surprisingly strong and resilient, especially when fueled by raw determination.

It took very little time to reach the oasis of plant-life. He pushed his head above ground just high enough to take a look around. He was in the middle of a patch of buttercups surrounding the monument commemorating the founding of New Home. This was the city square, harsh streetlights gave the place a claustrophobic feel and the scent of food still hung in the air even though the market stalls had been dismantled. Despite it being the middle of night there were still monsters walking around, many busily talking into their phones as they went about whatever business warranted being about at such an hour.

Asriel stared up at the towering architecture, the city was much more built up than he'd remembered. Many of the white stone buildings rose almost to the cavern roof, several others were in the process of being extended even further.

"Hello."

Asriel would have jumped if he were physically capable. He turned around, a girl in a rough grey cloak was looking down at him. She looked a little like a character from one of those human fairy stories Chara told him about.

"Hello." He echoed meekly.

"You're Prince Asriel aren't cha?" The girl asked in a playful tone.

Panic started to rise but he swallowed it back down. She was a kid, he could get her to stay quiet. "Yes... but don't tell anyone I'm here, okay?"

"Why not?"

"Because..." He wracked his brain for an answer. He'd never been good at coming up with lies on the spot, something which Chara had always found funny... the only reason he'd ever got into situations like these before was because of them.

"Because you're sneaking out and don't want anyone to know?" She answered for him. He got a feeling like he'd just ingested a block of ice, but then she giggled. "Hee hee, don't worry. I do that all the time! Your secret is safe with me." He heaved a sigh of relief. The girl seemed to be giving a mischievous grin, but it was hard to tell with her face so obscured. "My name is Suzy. I'm sneaking out right now! My mom doesn't like me being up this late, but the city is so crowded... It's so much nicer at night." She sat down in the flowerbed and stared up at the monument. "This is my favorite spot."

Asriel relaxed, following her gaze. "I don't like buttercups" He said, he wasn't sure why he'd said it, but it was true. There was nothing to like about buttercups. "Say, do you know the date? My dad stopped keeping count..."

"Hmm? Oh! If I was as old as the king I would probably lose track too, hehe. It's... the 23rd of May, 2115. Goodness, that is a long time to be dead!... sorry."

She turned her head away, Asriel just stared. Finally, real numbers to put this into perspective... that sick feeling was coming back. That was a bad idea. "It's fine." He decided to change the subject. "So, it's gotten busy around here?"

"It's always been busy, for as long as I can remember... the aquarium is full, there isn't much room for the flying folk to stretch their wings... some monsters have even been talking about moving to Snowdin. Apparently there's lots of space, but it's really really REALLY COLD!..." She wrapped her arms around herself and shivered at her own thought. "I don't want to live in the cold..."

Asriel remembered Snowdin, pine forests for as far as the eye could see. His family had trekked through there on numerous occasions while helping the populace to move to their new Capitol city.

"It's not that bad, lots of monsters chose to live there instead of coming here. Snow is fun!" Snowball fights were great fun... If he didn't stop himself he would be reminiscing all night.

"Nah, if I had to go and live somewhere else, I would rather live in Waterfall. My neighbor says its beautiful, and so peaceful, even more so than New Home at night!"

"You have never been to Waterfall?" Asriel was genuinely surprised. Everyone at some point visited Waterfall to make a wish.

"Some day I will do... when I find out how to get there! Anyway..." She picked herself off the ground and shifted her hood just enough to reveal another mischievous smile. "It was nice to meet you, but I have to go now before my mom starts to worry about me. Hehe. Catch ya later!"

Cloak bellowing behind her, she ran into an ally and vanished into the cutting dark past the streetlights.

Asriel supposed that he should leave, too. The Capitol was a terrible place to try and hide, being as crowded as Suzy said it was, and he had no reason to suspect her of lying about that. Waterfall seemed suitable. It was peaceful, not many monsters would be living there and he could blend in with the echo flowers if anyone happened to pass through... yes, he would leave for Waterfall... in the morning. The decision made, he ducked below the surface and dug himself a cosy hollow to curl up in. He really should get some sleep...


	5. High-Tech

_Your village is beautiful!_

 _It's okay, I guess._

 _Are these big metal things cars?_

 _Yup._

 _They are so much bigger in real life._

 _The surface is a big place. We should be reaching the village center soon, that's where..._

 _..._

 _Are you okay Chara?_

 _Yes... fine, thanks... lets just keep going..._

* * *

Asriel awoke to the clatter of feet against stone and peeked above the surface; the square was packed with monsters. Without natural sunlight there was no way to tell how long he'd been asleep for... not that it mattered.

He pulled his head back down and began planning his rout. To reach Waterfall he would need to pass through Hotland, which was directly beneath a large part of the Capitol. The problem with Hotland was the "Hot" part. Open pits of lava were great for fire-like monsters... but not so much for a plant. He could burrow down there without a problem, but the risk of falling into one of these molten death-vats was a little too high for his liking. He wracked his brain for a solution...

When he'd had been alive a connection between the castle and Hotland had been a planned feature, so the land beneath would be safe... relatively speaking. He stretched out his roots and stem; even plants ached after sleeping in such confined spaces. It was the best plan he had, time to head out.

The rock which supported the castle was dense and there was very little of anything to navigate by. Traveling blind wouldn't be too much of a problem, all he had to do was keep heading downwards... but the deeper he dug, the more something felt _off_. Something faint that was becoming stronger, like interference. It was beginning to give him a headache so he retracted his magical nav-net and carried on without it.

Asriel vaguely noticed when the rock became metal and before he knew it there was nothing. He fell and landed against a hard floor. Thankfully, It didn't hurt, that was one benefit of being so small and light... but next time, he should really pay better attention.

He was in a corridor, the walls were blue and paneled; several of the panels were missing, revealing coils of insulated wires underneath. The ground was warm and hummed gently like a dormant beast. Everything was made of metal, this all seemed very high-tech! The magical interference was also very strong here. Asriel grabbed at a floor tile with his roots and pulled himself down, relieved to find space underneath. A line of dull lights highlighted several conduits which ran the length of the room, for lack of a better option he decided to follow them.

This place was like a maze. From underneath, many of the rooms looked like they could be rearranged and slotted together like a giant puzzle. Which made sense, he supposed. Puzzle building was a long-time monster tradition, but whoever had built THIS puzzle was in a league of their own!

It took a long time, and there was a moment where he'd nearly fallen into an unfortunately-placed fire-pit, but Asriel found an exit. A bundle of pipes and conduits formed a bridge over a chasm of molten lava, they connected to a stone building on the other side. He shimmied along the underside, wrapping his roots tightly around the slippery cylinders. His heart would have been beating out of his chest if he'd had one, but slowly, steadily, he made it across and planted himself into the the rock on the other side.

Asriel decided to investigate the building which turned out to be some kind of hotel. He surfacing behind a potted plant in seemed to be in the main lobby. The room was done up in gold and red and an old looking fountain took pride of place in the center. It was also very busy, so he didn't hang around for long.

Beyond the hotel the land became barren. He popped up frequently to check his bearings but every formation of rock looked just as confusing as the next. Occasionally he would see conveyor belts, deactivated puzzles and other high-tech things in the distance. It was impressive the first couple of times, but it all ended up looked pretty similar... hey, didn't he just see that exact same set of vents a few minutes ago?!

He resurfaced with a sigh, slowly and shakily exhaling some of the pent-up frustration from his body. He'd been digging around the same Hotland rocks for goodness knows how long and he really needed a break. Sitting on the edge of an outcrop, he looking out across the vast ocean of magma which illuminated the cavern. In the distance loomed a large structure constructed of metal and pipes, menacing in the red glow. He stared at it, was that where he'd just been?

"Quite the sight, eh deary?"

Asriel spun around, he was getting a little tired of being taken by surprise. A spider monster with black pigtails and wearing a red pinafore and pantaloons had approached him. She knelt down and smiled sweetly, her fangs glinting.

Oh well, a little chat could help to cut the monotony he supposed. He gestured towards the ominous structure. "What is it?"

"You don't know?" She looked genuinely surprised "That's the Core, it's been around since before anyone can remember."

Asriel shook his head. "Not during my time... what does it do? Who made it?"

"Well... no one knows who made it, but it powers the entire underground." She made a dismissive gesture with her hand. "Anyway, enough about that. You are a long way from home. You do know that the king is worried sick about you, right?"

"I'm not going back." He gritted his teeth "Is that why you came to me, to tell me to go back?"

"Not at all! Is something eating at you deary?" She seemed to make a sympathetic expression, but it was hard to tell with her fearsome features. "If you need to talk I can offer you tea and pastries at my web. Free of charge, of course... I won't force you to go back."

Asriel shook his head. "I can't stay."

"Why ever not?" The spider smiled only slightly wider. "Wherever you're going, are you really in such a hurry that you couldn't even spare a few moments to get away from this unbearable heat?"

Asriel clamped his mouth shut, he wasn't going to tell her anything... though she had a point about the heat.

"Please. It won't be for long." She stated with face unmoving, quietly insistent.

He narrowed his eyes. "Why do you want me to stay?"

The spider adjusted her position and glanced away. Asriel caught a glimpse of a phone in one of her hands, she hid it behind her back.

"For your own good deary. You aren't in the right mind, coming all the way to Hotland on your own like this, and without telling anyone! I just want to help you." She said with smile yet wider.

He smiled too. "Well, thank you for your kind offer, but I must decline." Then ducked down into the ground before she could respond.

A moment later there was a thud - more of a feeling than a sound - followed by muffled cursing. He stayed motionless, waiting and listening as the spider paced and huffed up above, then something new and heavy rumbled near.

"MUFFET, DARLING! WHERE IS OUR PRECIOUS PRINCE?" Someone else was here, their voice sounded robotic.

"Ahuhuhu!" Muffet laughed bitterly. "For a TV star your timing is terrible! He just left."

Asriel wondered if this was the same robot monster his dad had turned away from the castle gates a few weeks ago.

"YOU LET HIM LEAVE? SO YOU MADE ME COME ALL THIS WAY FOR NOTHING?!"

"No, it's not like I just 'let him leave'. I tried to convince him to stay but he wasn't interested in my hospitality! Anyway, I've been neglecting real customers for this. Keep your reward money, I can't let the poor dearys go hungry~"

"Darling... no one ever shows up for your bake-sales! You don't have the same... inviting quality that I have."

"Nonsense, I've been taking etiquette lessons. I am the model of politeness! Now, if you would excuse me, I have my own business to attend to." She stalked off, her footsteps surprisingly light.

There was silence, then the rumbling noise started up again. Asriel decided to follow. He wanted to know why this robot had taken such an interest in him... also he was lost. There wasn't anything to lose by taking the chance.

The robot led him to a high-tech elevator; there was no cord, the entire thing seemed to be suspended in place by magnets. He secured himself to the outside of the car with vines and held on tightly as it lurched downwards and then, to his surprise, sideways. When the lift finally stopped, the door opened and he burrowed out. The robot didn't travel far.

"Mettaton! Did you find... oh" Dr. Alphy's voice, this was unexpected.

"Sorry doctor, I arrived just moments too late..."

There was a pause before she answered him. "W-well, I guess at least we know he's in Hotland... somewhere."

"You know, I may be able to cover ground more quickly if-"

"Yes I know. I'm still working on it... but, I-I suppose I could throw something together to make you a little faster, in the mean time..."

There was another pause, Asriel moved to what felt like a safe distance and pulled just enough of himself above the surface to see what was going on. The robot - Mettaton - was constructed of a large, rectangular box with a screen and several dials on the front, and a large switch on the back. He balanced on a single wheel. It looked precarious, yet was somehow stable.

Alphys was not looking at him, her face was turned to the ground.

"Please keep trying. I- we, really need to find him. I can't..." She trailed off, her eyes glazed over for several seconds before she looked up again. "Lets just go inside."

The two walked - and rolled - into a tall grey building with the word 'Lab' written above the door. It also seemed to be the only building around.

Asriel had expected monsters to attempt to find him after he'd run away, but Dr. Alphys' behavior continued to make him suspicious. He knew that he should be feeling bad for her right now, but he just couldn't. He'd written off the awkwardness of their previous encounters as her simply being an awkward sort. Many monsters were shy and nervous around others and he assumed they might also chose to fulfill reclusive types of work. Alphys would have filled that definition... but he just couldn't get that look of _guilt_ out of his mind.

Suspicions aside, he had to get away from Hotland. Ducking under the ground he caste out his navigation magic once more. Several signals, just on the edge of his range formed familiar shapes that he had not seen in a very long time. Asriel smiled, finally!

 _Echo Flowers!_


	6. Echoes

Hotland had taken a toll on his body, something which he hadn't noticed until the cool, moist soil of Waterfall started to reverse the wilting. Asriel dug around a chasm and surfaced on the other side. The room was waterlogged with muddy slopes brimming with echo flowers and yellow sparkles which flitted brightly among the blooms.

Echo flowers. They had been such magical things for monsters, glowing soft blue in the darkness of these narrow caverns... plants that could talk... heh. He and Chara used to leave messages with them, part of him wondered if any flower still held either of their voices, but he dismissed the idea. They would have been overwritten long ago.

He put his face to a flower and listened. ~

~"Wishing is lame, why are we here?"~

~"You can always leave. No one's forcing you to be here."~

~"No way! I'm not letting you ditch me again!"~

It sounded like a group of teenagers had recently passed through. Asriel approached a second flower.

~"I'm taking this flower! Okay, I wish... I wish that people would actually notice me for once! I'm sick of being ignored."~

~"Dude, that's such a narcissistic thing to ask for."~

~"What? No it's not! Besides, at least it isn't the same thing EVERYONE wishes for! Okay then, what do YOU wish for?"~

The flower went quiet. He approached a third.

~"I... I wish- hey back off! I'm not making my wish while you're breathing down my neck!"~

~"Okay dude chill! I'll catch you up ahead then..."~

~"I wish... I could see my mom again. I just want her to come home..."~

The flower fell silent. Asriel stared, he couldn't help but wonder about his own mother... wherever she was. His father hadn't told him much, Asgore had always avoided the question whenever the subject came up. At least, Asriel supposed, she wasn't dead... dad wouldn't lie to him about that... would he?

There was light splashing from the next room and Asriel instinctively went rigid. Peering through the entrance he glimpsed what appeared to be a turtle monster passing by with a bundle of seagrass in his arms. He looked old... and strangely familiar. With a quick check to make sure the old monster wouldn't see him, Asriel ducked underground and resurfaced silently behind him.

Familiar... why? He knew it was possible for non-ghost-and-boss monsters to live for a very long time, so, that meant it was also possible for him to have seen this monster around before. When he'd been alive. But... simply remembering a face in the crowd didn't make much sense. Asriel had a feeling that this monster had been important. He just couldn't quite put his finger on why...

Somewhere in the back of his mind, a memory clicked into place.

 _"Son, say hello to Gerson, he's the leader of the Royal Guard! Did you know that he fought in the war?"_

 _"Howdy! Wow, what was it like?!"_

 _"Not very pleasant I can tell you that! That's where I got my title,'The Hammer of Justice', because, well, I have a very big hammer! Wa ha ha!"_

Ah.

Gerson had looked more spritely back then, but still quite old. He was the last person Asriel needed to be seen by right now. Frail though he seemed to be, chances were he was still loyal to Asgore and would turn Asriel in the moment he was spotted. This was a problem.

The old turtle walked deeper into the caverns, Asriel dug down and did the same. Waterfall was a confusing and surprisingly expansive place, filled with pools, cliffs and raised walkways. Somewhere, in among it all would be a safe haven. A place where he could stay undisturbed for a while, where no one would find him so he could... he could...

Oh come on! Who was the heck was he kidding with this plan?! He couldn't just isolate himself from everyone for the rest of eternity! But at the same time... he also couldn't go back... he'd tried that, it hadn't worked! There had to be something... somewhere... he...

 _No! Stop thinking about it!_ Asriel shook his head, biting down hard on his lip. _I can figure out the rest later. Just focus on the NOW!_

Shoving his foreboding back down, Asriel sent out his magical nav-net to reveal several more nooks and crannies which most monsters would probably have missed. He was considering where to head first when something unusual showed up; a patch of plants that didn't seem to belong. Intrigued, he decided to investigate those first. Distractions were good.

He surfaced in another waterlogged room and squinted. The whole area reeked of garbage... and for good reason. In between torrents of water cascading from above, trash was piled up almost to the roof. This must be the dump, the only connection monster society still had with the human world outside... hee hee hee... he got a little mischievous tingle just being here! His mother had NEVER allowed him to go anywhere NEAR the dump! Though Chara might have attempted to sneak out, once or twice...

Anyway, time to investigate! The anomaly should be right behind him... a bed of golden flowers. Golden flowers? This only brought up more questions. What were Chara's favorite flowers doing in a dark, damp cave in the middle of Waterfall?! He knew they were hardy and could be pretty pervasive, having hitched a ride into the Underground in the first place. But this... was actually quite impressive. They really must be the most determined of plants to survive here, among the water and trash.

Sounds of splashing footsteps came from behind and Asriel quickly hid among the flowers. A short figure walked in shadows towards one of waterfalls. It was Alphys. What was she doing in the dump? She stood at the edge and looked down, transfixed for a long time... or it felt like a long time. Just... staring into oblivion...

Asriel swallowed. He knew that look, he wished he didn't. It was the look of someone apprehensive, undecided. The look of someone who could do something... foolish.

 _Don't think about it._

He wondered if he should go to her... to talk to her... to ask her to STOP... but he just couldn't. All he could do was watch while something sickening brewed up inside of him. Why was he mad at her? He shouldn't be mad at her, why was she making him feel mad when he SHOULD be concerned?!

There was more splashing, this time louder, and a second figure appeared. Tall and clad in bulky armour, they aggressively tore at the trash piles looking for something... then they spotted Alphys.

Alphys didn't seem to notice until they were right by her shoulder. The warrior removed her helmet. A fish monster, battle-scared with an eyepatch and viciously sharp looking fangs smiled warmly at the scientist. They started to chat. Asriel couldn't make out what they were saying, but Alphys seemed to have forgotten about what she came here for.

After a short time the two walked away together, arm in arm and never letting up the conversation. Asriel stared after them as the sounds of footsteps faded away. Only the ever-present roar of the waterfalls remained.

If that fish hadn't come along, who knows what could have happened. Well, one thing was for certain; there was nothing for him here.

After a little digging he reached Waterfall's main cavern; a vast chamber filled with luminous plants and trees growing aside a lake of soft cyan light, glowing tranquil under the faux stars of the cavern's eternal night. In here, it felt like he had all the time in the world, and as with most of waterfall, this room was filled to the brim with echo flowers. Distractions were good. ~

~"I wish that one day I'll be as strong as Undyne! Then i'll break the barrier and set everyone free!"~

...

~"I'll start. I wish to see the real stars one day. What about you?"~

~"I suppose it doesn't matter but... I would rather feel the warmth of the sun on my scales."~

~"Well, we could always book a room at the MTT resort."~

~"Har har..."~

...

~"I want my sister to come home."~

...

~"make a wish bro."~

~"IS THIS REALLY THE TIME? THERE ARE IMPORTANT THINGS THAT I NEED TO BE DOING... ALSO AREN'T YOU SUPPOSED TO BE WORKING RIGHT NOW?"~

~"humor me. you never know, it might come true."~

~"I WISH YOU WOULD TAKE YOUR SENTRY JOB MORE SERIOUSLY."~

~"aww, c'mon pap."~

~"OKAY FINE. I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WISH TO ONE DAY BECOME A FAMOUS ROYAL GUARDSMAN! ARE YOU HAPPY SANS?"~

~"yup."~

~"GOOD, NOW ENOUGH LOLLYGAGGING. I NEED TO GET BACK TO WORK AND SO SHOULD YOU."~

~"okay bro, but are you sure you want to _leaf_ so soon? don't want to _stay_ men and hear my wish?"~

~"SANS THAT WAS TERRIBLE! I'M LEAVING."~

~"that's okay, i'll chloro _fill_ you in later."~

A new looking telescope stood beside the next flower. It gazed out into one of the darkened corners of the cavern. The lens cap was still on. Asriel approached and listened.

~"i wish... after everything that's happened, all the time spent waiting and trying to find a way back to the way things used to be... that you would just go home, buddy. There is nothing out here for you."~


	7. Her

_Why did you stop?_

 _I've been thinking... when we get the souls... what if they try to stop us?_

 _They won't._

 _How do you know? We need six of them... and there's only two of us._

 _They won't know you like I do, they won't be able to take control. And if they try, I won't let them._

 _But how do you know they can't?_

 _... Just trust me. I know._

* * *

A patch of seagrass made for an adequate place to sleep, hide and watch the world go by. Not long had passed since Asriel's arrival in Waterfall, a couple of days at most. He'd seen monsters come and go, relinquishing their most precious hopes and dreams to the glowing blue flowers that made this sodden cavern their home. Not many came through here, as he had suspected. Waterfall was still a quiet place.

Well, mostly quiet anyway... that fish monster he'd seen in the dump patrolled Waterfall with a vengeance. She went everywhere. He saw her jump impossible heights and distances to reach places no one else would ever go. Why? He couldn't say, perhaps she was searching for him, or maybe she just did it because she could.

Another thing he'd noticed was a strange pair of shoes half-buried in his chosen hiding spot. They were small and shaped for delicate, clawless feet. They didn't look like they belonged to any kind of monster he knew of...

Had other humans fallen in the time he'd been dead? It was an interesting mystery, he hadn't heard mention of humans from the wishes of monsters who passed through. Whoever had left these shoes behind it seemed had been gone for a very long time.

... And the longer Asriel spent in this patch of grass, thinking about what to do next, the more he felt that he needed to be gone, too.

He was lucky not to have been discovered already... it was only a matter of time before someone spotted him here and he'd come to realize that isolation wouldn't help him anyway. He wanted to feel again, and he couldn't do that if there wasn't anyone around for him to feel anything for. His father had failed so there was no use in going back. There was only one other person who could help him...

Past Waterfall lay Snowdin. It had been pretty isolated from the Capitol during the time he'd been alive, so there was a chance the monsters there wouldn't know who he was. If they didn't know him, then there might also be a chance that they wouldn't know _her_. It was a long-shot perhaps, but a risk worth taking. There was no way she would be hiding out in any of the other places he'd passed through. He bid his temporary home goodbye and set out again.

The soil changed on the transition between Waterfall and Snowdin; the ground became rock-hard with permafrost and cold prickled sharply, even painfully at his roots. Very soon Asriel felt numb and navigating got harder to focus on. He picked a spot by some trees and surfaced.

A sign across from him, cheerfully decorated with red, blue and green fairy lights read 'Welcome to Snowdin'.

Huh, so this must be Snowdin Town. It looked quaint, bigger than he'd remembered but quaint nonetheless. Very few monsters were out and about, the few who were leaned up against a restaurant with the name 'GRILLBY'S' written across the front. Curiously, there was a decorated tree in the middle of town under which sat several boxes wrapped in colorful paper and ribbons.

Asriel vaguely remembered Chara mentioning some human tradition similar to this, but it'd never caught on with monsters at the time.

In the other direction was perhaps an even odder sight. A skeleton, this one tall and lanky with what seemed to be basketballs strapped to his shoulders was kneeling down on the rock formation which bridged the town to the rest of Snowdin. Around him were several cans of paint and a very long rope.

Curiosity burned at Asriel's mind. He needed information, right? This seemed like as good an opportunity to test out his theory about the town as any. And if it didn't go well, he would know that his mother couldn't possibly be here, and move on... it was worth a shot.

He approached the skeleton cautiously, making sure to be far enough away that he could duck underground at the first sign of trouble. "Howdy."

"HELLO, WHO'S THERE?" The skeleton turned around. His eye sockets widened and he gasped. "ARE YOU... A TALKING FLOWER?! WOWIE! WAIT... DON'T I REMEMBER YOU FROM SOMEWHERE?..."

That voice sounded familiar... "Papyrus?" Asriel clamped his mouth shut. _Idiot._

Papyrus' jaw hung open. "HOW DO YOU KNOW MY NAME?!"

Oh dear... "Urm... I can read minds." ... Why did he say that?

"A MAGICAL TALKING FLOWER WHO KNOWS MY NAME AND CAN READ MINDS! SANS WOULD-"

"Please don't tell your brother i'm here!" This was not going as planned.

"WHY NOT? ALSO WHY DO YOU SEEM SO FAMILIAR TO ME? HAVE I SEEN YOU BEFORE? WERE YOU ON METTATON'S TALK-SHOW?"

Well, at least he didn't remember who Asriel was... "You must be mistaken, we have never met before. I just came over because I saw you were making something and it looked interesting... so I wanted to know what it was?"

"OH THIS I- HANG ON A SECOND. IF YOU CAN READ MINDS HOW COME YOU DIDN'T JUST READ MY MIND TO FIND OUT?"

Why, why, why did he have to come up with such a dumb excuse?! "urm... "

"OH, YOU WANTED TO BE POLITE AND ASK ME DIRECTLY! YOU ARE SO THOUGHTFUL."

"Yes..." That was lucky.

"WELL YOU SEE, I WAS GOING TO SET TRAPS AROUND THIS ROCK FORMATION IN CASE A HUMAN CAME THROUGH... BUT IT ISN'T VERY DRAMATIC. SO I'M PAINTING IT TO LOOK LIKE A BRIDGE!" The skeleton smiled gleefully, opening his arms to gesture towards his handiwork.

Asriel looked over the rock bridge. A coat of paint and some rope was unlikely to fool anyone into thinking it was made from wood... unless they looked at it from a very specific angle, maybe.

Wait... puzzles he could understand, but why was Papyrus setting up traps specifically for humans? "You want to capture a human?"

"NYE HEH HEH! OF COURSE! IF I CAPTURE A HUMAN, UNDYNE WILL HAVE TO LET ME INTO THE ROYAL GUARD! THEN EVERYONE WILL WANT TO BE MY FRIEND!"

This skeleton sure bore his soul easily... though Asriel couldn't fault his enthusiasm and dedication. "Why does Undyne want a human?" Also, who was this Undyne person he keeps hearing about anyway?

"OH, THE KING MANDATED THAT ALL HUMANS WERE TO BE CAPTURED AND BROUGHT TO THE CASTLE. IT'S WHAT THE ROYAL GUARD ARE TRAINED FOR."

Asriel narrowed his eyes. "Why would my da- the king do that?" Was he trying to... no. He wouldn't... would he?

"NO IDEA, MAYBE HE WANTS TO GIVE THEM PUZZLES? THAT'S WHAT I WOULD DO!" Papyrus brought his hand up and rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I'LL ASK UNDYNE ABOUT IT."

The thought of his father ordering the capture of humans was making Asriel uncomfortable, he should hurry up and get the information he came for. "Thanks Papyrus, I have one more question before I go. Does the king come over here often?... And have you seen anyone around who looks sorta like him?"

"YES, KING DREEMURR COMES HERE FROM TIME TO TIME. EVERYONE LOVES THAT GUY! HE'S ALWAYS SO HAPPY TO TALK THE TOWNSPEOPLE. I CAN'T THINK OF ANYONE WHO LOOKS LIKE HIM THOUGH... THERE ARE BUNNY MONSTERS HERE, DO THEY COUNT? LIKE, LESS BOSS-LIKE FUZZY BOSS MONSTERS!?"

A dead end then. Disappointing, but at least it was another place crossed off the mental checklist. "Oh, well thanks anyway. It was nice talking to you."

"HANG ON... I REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE! YOU'RE THE KING'S SON! UNDYNE WAS TALKING ABOUT ... HELLO?"

But Asriel had already ducked underground. With Snowdin out of the question there was only one other place left that she could possibly be: Home... or whatever was left of it...

He was thoroughly numbed to the core, but would not give up. He set out through the frigid permafrost, focused completely on finding the old Capitol. No more distractions. Snowdin wasn't a large place when you kept moving, dogs barked and the wind howled overhead but he didn't stop plowing through the pine forest until the sound of a familiar voice made him falter.

Sans...

Asriel hid behind one of the trees. Right at the end of the woodland, the skeleton stood in front of a door marking the possibly last and only entry point to the old Capitol which hadn't been consumed by the forest.

He was talking to someone on the other side. "hey, that was a good one! but anyways... i need to get going, sorry. paps gets a bit antsy when i leave my post for too long... hows about one more, before i hit the road?"

A post? Here? Didn't Sans work in the castle? He knocked on the door. A voice on the other side responded, but was too muffled to make out.

"iva." Sans said aloud.

 _Iva?_ Asriel frowned, what were they talking about?

"i've a sore hand from knocking so much." After a moment, faint laughter could be heard from the other side.

 _Oh... they're telling knock knock jokes?_

"pretty good too, eh? well, it's been a lot of fun, i'll come back with more tomorrow. take care, lady."

The short skeleton made a motion like a wave but stopped himself halfheartedly. Tucking his hands into his jacket pockets, he walked into the trees and vanished.

The forest took on an eery stillness after Sans' departure, but Asriel barely noticed. Excitement tingled through his stem, someone was in there, someone who liked bad jokes! This was promising.

He burrowed under the door and found a small patch of grass on the other side. Grass rarely grew underground, the only places it could be found were where natural sunlight filtered in through gaps in the cavern ceiling. The dim rays covered him like a spotlight in the gloom, filling him with a comfortable, serene energy.

It didn't take long to spot the person behind the door. A tall figure wearing purple robes had her back to him as she walked down a long corridor, her head bowed. The anticipation grew stronger. It couldn't be anyone else, could it...?

"Mom?" Asriel asked uncertainly. The figure turned around, her dark red eyes filling with confusion at the sight of him. _It was her! It was her!_ "Mom!" He practically screamed with joy. "Mom, It's me. Asriel! I came all this way to find you!"

Toriel furrowed her brow, her eyes going stern. "Stop it."

He frowned, dumbstruck. "I- what?"

"Whoever you are, stop playing this trick. This is NOT funny!" She snarled. Her body had gone rigid, defensive. He'd never seen her act this way before...

 _She doesn't believe me._ Asriel's eyes widened, frantic thoughts started running circles through his head. "What? No! Mom, this isn't a trick! it's really me, I swear! I can prove it!"

But she wasn't listening, she wasn't listening..."My Son is dead! And this is in VERY poor taste to his memory!" Flickers of fire blossomed in her hands, her face was filled with anger and pain. "If you DARE to keep pretending!" She raised her arms. The threat was enough, she didn't need to finish her sentence.

A wave of fear passed through Asriel's body. He trembled, staring shocked at the pure hatred in his mother's eyes while moisture built up in his own.

"Mom please!" Tears started running down the furrows in his petals. "I swear I-I'm not lying to you! P-please b-believe me! I... I c-can explain!... I can..."

Then he broke down, he couldn't stop himself. Seconds passed, maybe longer... only the echoes of his gentle sobs filled the empty room. Toriel was silent.

 _You're doing it again, well done, idiot! Big kids don't cry... Pathetic._

"...Asriel?" Her voice was so soft as to be almost inaudible. He could only just see her through his teary haze, the fire in her hands had been extinguished. "Asriel... it can't be... how?... oh my god..." She ran up to him and embraced him, much like his father had. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry! I nearly hurt you!... I... there is no excuse. I am so, so sorry my child. I will never scare you like that ever again, I promise!"

She started crying. Asriel, frustrated with himself put all his effort into forcing the tears and tremors to stop. "P-please let g-go. Mom."

She backed away, wiping the tears from her eyes. "I... I..."

She seemed to be speechless. He couldn't blame her. There were so many questions that needed answering and he wasn't sure which to ask first, nor was he sure that he'd ever find answers to all of them. She would be feeling the same way, he could empathize with that, on an intellectual level at least.

And hopefully, soon, on an emotional one too. This time would be different. No more waiting and vainly hoping, if something was wrong with him, really, seriously WRONG with him, she would find out what. She was smart, she always knew when something was up. Like when he and Chara were up to no good...

Toriel made another attempt. "How about we go inside the house?" She spoke softly, it looked like the gears in her head had momentarily jammed up. Asriel nodded slowly, she hesitated before speaking again. "Would you... like me to carry you? It is just... I am not sure if you will be able to get inside by yourself..."

He was sure that he could manage by himself, but nodded agreement anyway. He would put up with the discomfort if it meant she might get over the shock more quickly.

She leaned down and carefully grabbed his stem in one hand. He retracted his roots as she lifted him out of the ground, slowly and gently, then held him in cupped hands.

"Should I pick up some soil too?" Toriel eyed him with deep concern.

He shook his head. "I'll be fine." She didn't seem to be reassured. "Please mom, let's just go."

This time she gave a small nod and looked away. She didn't look at him again, instead staring directly ahead as they moved down the old dusty corridor in silence.

After scaling a set of stairs they emerged inside the old house. Asriel had fond memories of this place, it still looked exactly as he'd remembered. Toriel walked into the living room and grabbed the pot of flowers adorning the table, hurriedly pushed the plants to one side and dug out a hole in the dirt with her hands. Carefully, she deposited Asriel inside. It felt a bit crowded, sharing the pot with so many other flowers, but it would only be temporary...

She left the room, muttering something about needing to wash her hands and returned a short time later with two cups of tea, noticeably calmer but still a little zoned out. This was good.

She sat down at the table, placing her tea beside her and Asriel's in front of the pot.

She looked at the cup for a moment, then at him. "Do you need-"

"No, it's okay, I got this. Thanks." He put on a reassuring smile and extended a vine from the plant pot, looping it around the handle.

Toriel smiled weakly in response, then picked up her own cup and took a sip of the tea. They watched each other for several moments, Asriel swilled the tea around in his cup. He didn't feel much like drinking it.

Toriel spoke first. "Please my child, do not mistake my shock for not caring. I am very happy to have you back... it is just... how? What happened to you?"

"I don't know." Asriel said flatly. "I just woke up one day. In the garden. In the castle... and I was like this."

"Did someone do this to you?"

He shook his head. "I don't know." Suspicions came to mind but he didn't entertain them here. He changed the subject. "I came here to find you because... because... I really need your help, mom. You're the only one who can..."

He lowered his eyes to the still-full teacup, trying to hold back the pain surfacing inside... why did this need to be so hard?

"Asriel, you know that I would do anything to help you. Please, tell me what is wrong." He didn't see her face, but heard the reassurance in her voice. It didn't do much to help...

He took a deep breath. "I can't feel love anymore." He looked up, her expression had changed to confusion, then amusement pricked at the sides of her mouth. She made a move to speak but he cut her off. "I'm serious! Ever since I woke up as a flower I haven't been able to feel anything... for anyone... not even dad..." She frowned, Asriel paused a moment as air seemed to hitch in his throat. "And it isn't like I haven't been trying either! I spent weeks at the castle before I... urm, heh, I ran away to find... you." He looked away. "I think there's something wrong with me. And I thought... I thought you might know what it is."

There was an awkward silence. Asriel put his cup down, he felt very exposed.

When Toriel spoke again, it was in a gentle voice. "Let me see."

She reached out and put her hands on his stem, then looked deeply into his eyes. The intense stare was unnerving, but he knew that she wouldn't hurt him. Her hands warmed and tingled with magic, perhaps a healing kind. It was in her nature that such magic manifested itself... so caring and kind... she was the best healer he knew.

Her eyes widened... and he saw terror in them. A horrible, sickening, sinking feeling washed over him. She let go of his stem.

"Mom...? What did yo-?" He was starting to shake again.

"That is not possible." Toriel stated through gritted teeth "It can't be right." She took a step back and shook her head.

That sick feeling was only getting worse... "Mom...?"

"Asriel I can't find... " Toriel trailed off. She looked like she was debating whether or not to tell the truth.

Asriel swallowed. "Tell me mom. Please." His voice was so weak...

Toriel looked torn. "Asriel... you..." She turned to look at the wall and forced out the rest of her words. "You don't have a soul."


	8. An Ending

_I'm scared..._

 _It's okay, don't worry. We're a thousand times stronger than any of them... how about that one over there first? Should be quick and easy to deal with._

 _What? They're just a kid! I'm not going to kill a kid!_

 _Why not? He deserves it._

 _Why would he...? Chara, no! Please... this... this is all wrong!_

 _It's a bit late to have second thoughts now._

 _NO! I changed my mind. I can't do this... we will have to find another way._

 _Little brother... you do remember our agreement, don't you?_

* * *

Love, hope, compassion... This is what people say monster souls are made of. Now that the truth was out, he could finally feel the void inside of him. It all made sense now.

He had stayed with Toriel for several days, trying out different ways to recapture even a small part of what he'd lost... all in vain. As time passed, Asriel fell deeper and deeper into despair while Toriel grew more and more frustrated. She always greeted him with a smile, treating him with the same love and care that she'd given him in life... but then she'd cry and curse at his father when she thought he wasn't watching.

Why ever she'd left, she could never give him a straight answer. The most he was able to gather was that, just after his and Chara's deaths, dad had chosen to do something... stupid. So stupid that it drove her away. He could see the pain in her eyes as she talked, that glint of conflicted guilt. It was his fault. That was why she struggled, because she didn't want to make him feel guilty...

When he wasn't with her, Asriel explored what remained of Home. It seemed that no one ever called it by it's original name anymore; now it was just the RUINS. As it turned out, some monsters still lived here, a mostly isolated existence as Toriel never let anyone in or out. The only visitors were those who could crawl under the door or phase through solid matter entirely. A ghost frequently came over from the other side, all it ever did was lie on the ground sulking to itself and pretending to sleep. It seemed familiar, but Asriel was past caring. As for the other monsters, non of them knew who he was... but they never had anything interesting to say, either. Non dared to approach him when Toriel was nearby.

Gentle evening light filtered in from a hole in the high cavern roof, it cast a warm glow over Asriel's petals. He sat in a patch of golden flowers, planted - presumably by Toriel - at the very end of the Ruins. This was it, as far as you could go. There was nowhere left to run.

He had been here for hours, wilted and unmoving. Toriel had come over a couple of times to sit and read to him, but he ignored her. What was the point? What was the point in anything? A monster's entire existence, their reason for being was defined by their compassion... and he could never, ever feel that EVER again. He was an empty, soulless husk. A mere echo of what he once was. He should never have existed in the first place!

... Maybe Chara was right. He would not be suffering like this if he'd just gone along with the plan. Everyone's hopes, everyone's dreams... shattered. And this was his punishment.

 _Idiot._

The nightmares were getting worse. Every night since his revival he dreamt of the night of his death. Different snippets, not all of them violent. But now, every time he shut his eyes he saw the anger and fear on those human's faces as they ran, screaming at him like rabid animals, weapons raised and ready to strike him down. His very existence had become torture.

He raised his head to the hole in the roof, this was where Chara had fallen. When they came here, to Mt. Ebott to... disappear. The place where he sat right now was where he'd first found them, broken and battered on the hard cavern floor, crying out for help. Heh... perhaps it would be fitting then, that this would be the place where he too would make himself 'disappear'...

 _I will see you again Chara. Please forgive me._

Offensive magic was not something that Asriel had ever attempted to conjure. He never thought about using his magic to harm, at least, not outside pretend play. Magic was all focused in the intention... and this was a very daunting one. He'd had plenty of time to think about it, all other options had been exhausted and this was not a decision he'd taken lightly. He was ready.

Closing his eyes, he focused his last slither of determination onto coalescing something dangerous.

 _Bullets_ he thought. Nothing fancy. Small, white and for no other purpose than to harm. He felt the tug of magic leaving him. They were there, he wasn't going to look at them. He didn't need to.

He took in a deep breath, tears started to form in his eyes again. No turning back, no regrets. Just one final thought to end his existence... he gave the command.

Sharp pain streaked through his body. He opened his eyes in a silent scream as his torn stem collapsed to the ground and his world quickly faded to black.

 _I'm coming to find you Chara, I..._

lucidity draining, he felt himself drawing closer and closer to the eternal embrace of death. He tried to smile, to be happy that his ordeal would soon be over... but then a thought occurred. A most terrible thought and he was suddenly filled with apprehension.

 _If... if I don't have a soul... will I still...?_

Something primal started to burn inside Asriel. This was a mistake, a HUGE mistake!

 _NO!_ He screamed into the darkness in defiance. _I don't want to die!_

* * *

A strange language drifted through the void but faded, decaying away until it was completely lost from memory...

Asriel awoke with a start. "I don't want to die!" He shouted, then clamped his mouth shut, wide eyed.

He was in the throne room, in exactly the same place where he'd first woken up and judging by the sunlight which caste down over the flowerbed, it was also midday.

How? What'd happened? Didn't he die? This can't all have just been a dream, it was too... vivid. This didn't make any sense...

Perhaps he'd somehow teleported? He thought, though that still wouldn't explain how he'd survived. Confused, Asriel decided to seek out his father. He didn't look forward to the inevitable conversation, but there wasn't anything to lose anymore.

He started his search at their old house. Peeking out between the wooden floor boards, he noted that the place looked much the same as he'd remembered it, with the exception of the golden flowers growing in every plant pot. It seems his father really didn't tend to any other kind of plant anymore. Such a shame...

There were voices coming from outside; he hid behind a pot and looked through the open door. Asgore was there, he was talking to someone Asriel couldn't see. He could only make out one side of the conversation.

"Oh my, but what does this mean?... ... Golly, do you have any idea what caused it?... ... Okay, I will keep an eye open for anything out of the ordinary... ... Of course I am taking this seriously. I trust that you know what you are doing, otherwise I would not have appointed you to this task... ...Thank you for bringing this to my attention, please, do not tell anyone else about it. I do not want to cause alarm. Goodbye, Sans. Have a pleasant day!"

Asriel frowned, what was that all about? Something important enough that it needed to be brought to the king's attention, but alarming enough that it should be kept quiet? And what a surprise that skeleton was somehow involved...

Asgore walked inside, a bag full of groceries in his hand. Asriel waited to be sure that Sans was definitely gone before revealing himself.

"Er... hi, dad." He said, bracing for whatever beration his father would send his way.

Asgore turned around, struggling to find the source of the voice. "Howdy there. I think you must be confused, I..." He spotted Asriel, his face took on an expression of confusion. "... My, my... I have never seen a flower talk, though-."

Asriel's eyes grew wide. "You don't... remember me?"

Asgore shook his head. "Sorry, I think I would remember seeing a talking flower before. But as you are here, would you like a cup of tea?" He smiled sincerely, placing his bag on the floor and kneeling down to match Asriel's height.

"... No, that's okay, thank you... I need to go. Sorry." Asriel quickly ducked underground. What the hell was going on?! He was in the wrong place, at the wrong time of day and his own dad didn't even recognize him... wait... could it be...?

He burrowed out of the castle and re-surfaced in the Capitol. Most of the monsters around were preoccupied with their own business, so no one seemed to notice him. He stopped a passerby with a vine to the shoulder.

"Howdy! This is going to sound like a strange question but... what is today's date?"

The monster - who was some sort of dragon - looked down at him with the same expression Asgore had worn. "The 3rd" He said.

"What month? What year?" Asriel felt frantic. Judging by the other monster's reaction, he looked it too.

"... Of May... 2115... are you okay?... Not trying to sound rude but... what even are you?"

He'd traveled in time... He'd traveled in TIME! How was that even possible?!

"Thank you! I am no one. Forget I was even here. Goodbye!" Asriel retreated back underground.

Hee hee hee, this was incredible! He had to do more tests to make sure it wasn't just a one-off... but this was so exciting! Time travel... think of all the possibilities!


	9. Save and Load

A strange language drifted through the void but faded, decaying away until it was completely lost from-

Asriel gasped awake, adrenaline rushing through his body. The sensation of his petals and stem burning to a blackened char faded quickly; everything was intact again.

He was in the throne room, the midday sun shone down upon the flowerbed, just as it always did. Only moments ago he'd been in Hotland, taking a swim in a rather unconventional 'swimming pool'... it was not something he would recommend anyone ever try. Not pleasant to say the least...

This was the fifth time he'd 'died' as a flower. He'd tried coming up with different and creative ways to kill himself to test this new-found power; it would have been fun if it wasn't always so painful.

But no matter what he tried the result was always the same; at any moment he could have let himself go and allowed the world carry on without him, but as long as he wanted to live, he could come back through shear willpower.

And whenever he did so, he always returned to the garden, at exactly the same time and exactly the same place as when he'd first woken up. He felt just like one of the protagonists from the video games he used to play, whenever they died they always came back to life at a point earlier on in their games too!

This was his 'SAVE Point', but in real life!

Hmm... as incredible as it was, Asriel wasn't keen on having to die every time he wanted to go back. Perhaps... there was a way to harness this power, to use it without needing to resort to such drastic actions? Also, what about going back to OTHER times and places? Could he set his own SAVE points?

Determination had already granted him many abilities that should not have been possible otherwise. Heck, he shouldn't have even woken up in the first place! The idea brought about it's own excitement... the more he thought about it, the more he felt like, if he set his mind to it, he could do anything! It was worth a shot... Hee hee hee, maybe he could even make a game of it?

Asriel burrowed down and surfaced inside his old home. He hid behind the armchair beside the fireplace as a mischievous grin wove across his face. The thought of using time travel to mess with his father filled him with determination. Just like with all other forms of magic, he latched onto that drive and focused his intention onto saving this one moment forever; it manifested into the form of a strange yellow star. The star didn't look of this world, it wavered and flickered in an odd manor and there was something inside... some strange fragment that he couldn't quite reach.

Just as predicted, Asgore walked into the house - groceries in hand - and entered the living room. He set the bag down on the table and began unpacking. Milk was the first item, he set it carefully on the table and turned back to the bag. Oh, this was going to be fun! Asriel summoned a vine and stealthily extended it to his target, but snatched it back just as Asgore turned around with the next item; a loaf of bread. On the second attempt Asgore's attention was turned away for longer and Asriel successfully pilfered the milk right from under him.

Asgore turned around with a punnet of crab apples in his hands. He looked at the table with an expression of bafflement and put the punnet down, then checked on the ground, then around the room, then inside the bag. Perplexed, he mumbled something under his breath and started fishing out the next item. Asriel snatched the bread loaf.

This time Asgore looked annoyed. "Is somebody here?" He asked and started walking around the room.

Asriel moved to the kitchen and placed the bread and milk on the counter, then ducked underground. Hee hee hee, he couldn't stop giggling! Silly little pranks like these were usually Chara's idea, while he would be the one to fret about getting caught... though he never dared to tell them that! But now that there were no consequences, what was the harm?

Asgore walked into the kitchen and became even more baffled to find his two missing items on the counter-top. Asriel drank in his expression before returning to the living room and stealing the entire bag of groceries.

He opened it up as quietly as he could. _Let's see... eggs, flour, cinnamon, some tins... and a shopping list._

He read over the list, it looked like Asgore was planning to make an apple pie... but he'd forgotten the sugar. Asriel smirked, that was pretty typical of him, he always did get sidetracked into conversation and forget things...

By this point Asgore had noticed the missing bag of groceries. "I know someone is here playing a silly prank on me. Come out now and I won't be mad at you."

Looks like it's time to crank it up a notch! Asriel took the bag and placed it on the counter-top alongside the rest of the items in the kitchen, with the exception of the flour which he balanced on the cabinet above. He made sure to make some noise as he retracted his vine to draw Asgore's attention back to the kitchen.

The lure succeeded, Asgore turned around and spotted the bag of groceries. He approached them cautiously and checked inside, then looked up with a frown. "Did you take my sugar and flour?"

Hmm, he wasn't looking up... time to improvise a little. Asriel summoned a small, pellet-shaped bullet and carefully aimed it at the base of the flour bag. The bullet hit it's mark and the impact made very little noise; flour started to trickle down from the hole left behind and land softly on Asgores head, slowly turning his golden mane a ghostly white. Hee hee hee...

After a moment, Asgore noticed and looked up, shielding his face with his hand. "Oh, hohoho. Very funny..."

There was nothing left to do now but sit back and watch. Asgore reached up to grab the carefully balanced flour bag. The bag tipped over at his touch and sent its white powdery contents EVERYWHERE, but especially over his robes and fur!

Asriel burst out laughing. Asgore, who was now quite peeved whipped around to confront him.

But he didn't care.

"This has gone far enough! What do you have to say for yourself?!"

"N-nothing at all!" Asriel breathed through the streaming tears at the sight of his father. It was just so funny! "Y-you should see yourself in the mirror!" Asgore loomed. He didn't look like he was in any mood to take Asriel's advice. "Oh well, your loss. Hee hee hee... see ya later, dad... or should I say earlier!" He made a silly face and ducked underground.

Okay, enough silliness, time to test that SAVE point! Asriel focused on the past moment, shutting out everything until he felt nothing at all... and there it was; a flickering pinprick in the endless desert of eternity. He approached the moment, feeling as though time itself was standing still as the star neared closer and closer in the total darkness. He couldn't feel his body anymore. Peering inside, the fragment was still there... something strange briefly drifted through his mind at the sight of it. At first it didn't make any sense, then a word formed. He couldn't tell if this was his own thought, or some strange prompt from the star itself.

 _Continue?_

 _Yes._ He nodded his agreement despite not physically nodding. The star disappeared leaving the void still and empty, then suddenly there was a flash of white light.

Asriel opened his eyes, he was behind the armchair in the living room of his old home, exactly where he'd made the SAVE point. Just to be sure, he also checked the kitchen; it was immaculate, there was not a crumb of flour in sight.

Right on cue Asgore once again walked into the house, groceries in hand, and entered the living room. He set the bag down on the table.

"Howdy!" Asriel chirped, this time revealing himself to his father.

"Howdy." Asgore echoed back, frowning. "My, my, how strange. You seem somehow familiar to me... but I think I would have remembered seeing a talking flower before."

Huh, this was new. "Golly, that is strange. I'm pretty sure we have never met before, either." Asriel lied, trying to keep himself from giggling.

"Well, as you are here, would you like a cup of tea? I assume you came to talk to me about something?" Asgore tried to be gracious, but Asriel could see conflict on his face. Part annoyance, part recognition, like when multiple thoughts are fighting to be heard in the same space.

"That's a very kind offer but I am going to have to decline, sorry. I came here to tell you one thing... but it's very, very important!"

Asgore frowned. "I'm listening."

Asriel made a motion with his head and smiled sweetly. "Come closer, please." Asgore obliged, though hesitantly. When his face was much nearer, Asriel spoke up. He whispered in a conspiratorial manor right into the king's ear. "You forgot the sugar."

Asgore pulled his head back, looking even more confused than ever. Asriel giggled, waved a vine in as close an approximation to a goodbye wave as he could then ducked underground. Oh yes, this power had a great deal of potential!

The monsters needed hope, and now he had the power to give it to them. He could solve everyone's problems, and then, eventually even find a way to finish what he'd started. With enough time, he was sure that he could break the barrier and set everyone free!

Heck, who needs compassion when you have infinite possibilities to explore?!

So, where to start...

Night fell before Asriel surfacing again. He waited in the bed of buttercups at the heart of New Home. As usual, no monsters paid him any mind and it turned out that he didn't need to wait for long. From out of the shadows of a dark alleyway she appeared; his first friendly encounter since leaving the castle.

She ran to him but stopped short, her expression unreadable beneath her hood. He'd had plenty of time to plan for this. A SAVE point was set and he'd even come up with a new identity for himself. She always wanted to go to Waterfall? Well, consider that a wish granted.

"Howdy!" He said, giving her a reassuring smile. "My name is Flowey. Flowey the flower!"


	10. Suzy

The shadows caste by the New Home streetlights cut deep, creating an artificial tension to the meeting. The girl made a quick check left and right, then started to giggle.

"Hello Flowey, it's nice to meet you. My name is Suzy." She said, then sat down in the buttercups beside him. "It's weird, you know. I've never heard of a talking flower before but I feel like I've seen you around somewhere... Were you at the aquarium? Oh wait I know!... It was the park, wasn't it?"

Flowey smiled, she too felt remnants of the past timeline. "I'm impressed. It's so hard to remember a face in a crowd, especially in the city." He didn't want to lie, but sometimes you had to start twisting the truth. Chara said it was better for everyone that way.

"Yeah, it can get pretty crowded can't it? That's why I like to come here at night, the monument is so peaceful."

"Sneaking out?" He gave her a mischievous grin.

She stared for a moment, then grinned herself "Yup... but don't tell anyone okay? Hee hee."

"My lips are sealed." He stuck out his tongue with a wink.

She smiled and seemed to relax a little, leaned back into the flowers and gazed up at the ceiling. "So, why did you come here?"

"Same reason as you, I guess. It's nice here..." She looked so comfortable and not at all bothered by his presence. This felt like the right time to start steering the conversation. "But, d'you know where i'd really like to go?"

"Where?" She leaned in to look at him.

"Waterfall. I heard the gemstones in the walls glitter like stars." That was true, she didn't need to know that he'd also seen them in person. "How about you, anywhere you really wanna see?"

"Waterfall, same as you! My neighbor tells me all about it." Even though Flowey struggled to make out Suzy's facial expressions, her voice gave her excitement away.

He smiled and decided to press the subject further. "So why don't you go there?"

Just like that her joy evaporated. "Mom won't let me leave the city... also I don't know how... heh. So what's your excuse?"

"Hotland." He said dryly "No soil, no water, just rock. Also lava... ever try crossing through a place like that as a plant?" Also not a lie, Hotland was not very welcoming for flora.

"Oh..."

She held her head lower in a hopeless posture. This seemed like a good time to drop the proposal. "Well... what if I knew a way out of the city, would you take me to Waterfall? I heard It isn't far, we could even get there in less than an hour, if we were quick, so you're mom wouldn't ever need to know you were gone!"

Suzy seemed to consider it, turning her gaze back to the monument for a moment before she spoke again. "I would love to but... what if we get lost? My mom would get so mad if I was late back and she found out..."

Hmm... this was a valid problem. Flowey had gotten lost on the way to Waterfall the last time and he'd been hoping to see Hotland from above ground to better memorize the way through. Maybe if he... it was worth a shot, he could always go back to the past SAVE.

"Don't worry about that, I happen to have a special power that will stop us from getting lost."

That seemed to perk her up. "Hee hee, okay then... what kind of special power?" She mocked, leaning in to hear his answer.

A mischievous tingle ran through his stem. "I can rewind time."

It felt like a full second had passed before she responded."Okay, prove it!"

"I shall!" He could practically feel her amused grin on him. He wasn't annoyed, this was very entertaining and he couldn't wait to see her reaction when his claim was proven. "Think of something, a word, a sentence anything that I couldn't possibly guess. Tell me when you've thought of it... but don't tell me what it is yet!"

She nodded and giggled to herself, taking a few moments to mull over her response before she finally spoke up. "Ready, hee hee."

The thought of Suzy's reaction to time travel filled Flowey with determination. He focused it into summoning the SAVE star again and recorded the moment onto it.

"Okay." He said "Now tell me what you thought of."

"I was thinking that you're such a cute little flower with your pretty yellow petals and I want to hug you..." Oh c'mon really?! "Haha, got ya! Shoulda seen your face! I was thinking about bug-hunting with my net. My favorite bugs are the shiny blue beetles with the green legs but they're really rare. I mean, most bugs are pretty rare but those are like... super rare." She paused and shifted around a little. "So... what now?"

"You don't need to say anymore, I got it. Just wait, this won't take long."

He threw himself back into the time-frozen darkness and searched for his SAVE stars. Eventually he spotted one, everywhere else was complete blackness... there only seemed to be one here? Did that mean he could only save one moment at a time? Hmm... he would look for a way to save more moments later, keeping one around was perfectly sufficient. It was more than most monsters got...

A flash of white light and Flowey found himself right back where he'd been a moment ago. "You want to go bug-hunting with your net, also the shiny blue bugs with the green legs are your favorites." He listed off with an air of mild disinterest.

Suzy gasped, Flowey drank in her astonishment, then she started giggling. "You forgot one thing."

"I'm not saying that!" He snapped and she burst out laughing. Wait, had she just played him? Well done Suzy, bravo...

"Okay, I believe you. I'l take you to Waterfall... UNDER ONE CONDITION!" She produced a net from under her cloak. "We go bug hunting there... and you help me catch that beetle!"

He stared at the net for a moment. "... You just carry that thing around?"

"Never know when you might spot something, hee hee." She appeared to find a great deal of amusement from his expression.

Well, If it made her happy he had nothing to lose by it. "Okay fine, it's a deal."

Suzy held out her arm for Flowey to climb up. He pulled himself under her cloak and settling down with his head resting over her right shoulder. His stem coiled around her torso like a snake. She shifted and fidgeted a little, but eventually they found a way for them both to be comfortable.

"Hey there, are you trying to hide from something? Why do you wanna conceal yourself so badly?" She said while twisting her neck to look at him, making her reptilian (or were they amphibian?) features more apparent.

An interesting question from the person wearing the hooded cloak. "Why do you wanna conceal YOURSELF so badly?"

"I sneak out, you can put two and two together. So who are you hiding from?"

Good point. He hadn't thought much into it, no one knew him in this timeline but he still had this urge to stay hidden. Ah wait, he knew why: Control. Meetings should take place on his terms this time. No more stupid surprises like last time, monsters sneaking up on him and trying to sell him out... Wow, has he gotten cynical? Paranoid? What's wrong with him?

"I just feel more comfortable like this, not every monster has seen a talking flower before and I don't want to draw attention to us." It was the most logical excuse he could come up with, and it was kinda true too, any unwanted attention would slow them down.

"Okay." Was all Suzy said in response to that. "Let's get going then, which way first?"

"I... have no idea..."

It took them half an hour of searching through the city streets and alleyways before they found an elevator leading down to a place called 'MTT resort'. Flowey reloaded a SAVE he'd made right before they set off and they managed to shave twenty five minutes off their journey.

MTT resort turned out to be the same hotel he'd found on his first loop around, though at this time of night most guests were asleep. Suzy took the corridor between the fast food place and the reception desk.

"I think this is the wrong way."

"Well if it is we can always go back, right?"

They exited onto a balcony which connected to a large metal structure with a bridge of pipes. The sight brought back some rather nerve-wracking memories.

"What is that?" Suzy gazed across with an expression of awe.

"The Core." Flowey answered, then added. "It was written above the door."

"Oh wow, my dad used to work there! Well, that's what my mom told me."

Flowey frowned. "So, he never mentioned it himself?"

Suzy looked uncomfortable, almost conflicted. "I don't know him, she says he disappeared when I was very young. But... it's kinda weird... hard to explain."

"Do you... want to explain it?" Flowey asked uncertain.

She caste a sideways glance at him then opened and closed her mouth several times. "No." she stated finally, but her voice wobbled with conflict. Her eyes had clouded over.

He decided not to press her, they stared at the Core together for several moments in silence before turning around to carry on with the rest of their journey.

They didn't waste time in the hotel lobby. Suzy did express interest in grabbing something to eat from the MTT-Brand Burger Emporium but it appeared to be shut anyway. Outside the air was unusually cool for Hotland, most likely as a result of the resort having been built on one of the highest outcrops in the zone. Before them stretched a mile or more of open cavern. Flowey had seen it before, of course, but not from this vantage point. He could make out the shape of the land, fractured, rising and falling into the sea of magma, connected together by metal tubes that presumably housed the elevator system. It filled him with determination.

They found a note on the ground written in handwriting he vaguely recognized advertising goods for sale in the nearby alleyway. They decided to disregard it and move on, but he made a mental note to investigate at some point in the future.

Followed the path downhill they reached a plateau with three branching paths. The middle path hit a dead end so they ignored it while to their right appeared to lead to some kind of stage. It hadn't been set up to look like anything, props and lights were scattered around haphazardly while an auditorium, built on a flimsy looking wooden platform overhung the cliff's edge. Why anyone would ever want to watch a show there was beyond him.

"Who would build a stage out here?!"

"Oh, I think that's for Mettaton's act! I always wanted to see it live."

"... Seriously?"

"Hee hee, are you scared you might fall in? Don't worry about it, no one ever got hurt on his shows... not that I remember, anyway... hee hee."

"Even then... why here? Wouldn't it make more sense to build it in the Capitol?"

"Not enough room? Too much noise? Who knows? ... Hey, we should ask that to Mettaton if we ever meet him!"

He would keep that noted, too.

The path to their left ended at an elevator with stylized metal horns and 'R3' written above the door. Suzy had stopped to look at it.

"What does the R stand for?"

"Right, probably."

"But that doesn't make any sense! What if you're facing in the other direction?"

"Now that's two things in Hotland that don't make sense."

He'd pulled a silly face but she didn't seem to appreciate it. Oh well, at least it was amusing to him! Not like she was going to remember any of this, anyway...

Inside the elevator was a panel displaying several floors, all labeled with 'L' and 'R'. - "I told you it meant Right!" - they picked a floor at random and felt the cabin jolt then glide gently through the network of metal tubes to the soft hum of electromagnets.

On the other side they came across a set that had been done up to look like a kitchen, complete with shiny new appliances and a fake window depicting a pleasant blue sky. Unfortunately, the path was a dead end so they doubled back and selected another floor. The next floor looked much more promising; the rocky path wound and twisted high above the lava and out of sight, it must be headed somewhere. They endeavored to follow it, passing over conveyor belts and bridges constructed of old pipes. Suzy's mouth was agape for much of the journey, every now and then Flowey heard a gasp as she spotted something else new and high-tech in the distance. Huh, so not all monsters were used to this stuff, interesting.

After a short trek they rounded a corner obscured by a cliff and were surprised to find someone else was here. A volcano monster wandered around looking very confused, when it spotted Suzy it's lower lip began to wobble like it were about to cry.

"Awww, poor little Vulkin looks lost." She cooed then held out her arms and approached the frightened monster, Flowey just rolled his eyes.

She wrapped her arms around the Vulkin and gave it a big hug. The little volcano monster smiled and gasped with joy, it's eyes taking on the shape of love hearts.

"Ahh... so... LOVEY! " It said gleefully as wild magic erupted from it's crater top. The white lava projectiles flew in every direction, many landing on Suzy's cloak and burning holes through the fabric while others splashed harmlessly against her skin.

One projectile grazed Flowey's stalk, he hissed in pain and tightened his coils as the hot lava magic started to burn through his fragile physical body. Suzy noticed and leapt back with a yelp.

"Are you okay?" She asked sounding concerned then pulled away her cloak to see the damage. Part of his stem had almost completely burned through and was barely holding together by a thread.

"Oh no, you're hurt! I'll help!" Called the little Vulkin as yet more white magic erupted from it's crest.

Suzy looked horrified and started to backpedal. "Stop! Stop! You're not helping!"

Death had no bite for Flowey anymore so Suzy's protection was completely unnecessary. On one hand he really wished that he could take some solace in her compassion and concern, while on the other he found this whole situation rather amusing. Oh well, better do something before this all escalates further.

He summoned a set of vines which burst from the ground surrounding the now panicked Vulkin. They wrapped around it, pining it down so it could no longer move. The little monster struggled for several seconds then finally laid still, dejected, and started crying.

Suzy gave Flowey a funny look. "What?! I didn't hurt it!"

She shook her head and knelt down beside the trapped and distraught monster and started soothing it. "Don't worry little guy, you're going to be alright. Just no more wild magic, okay? Now, do you need help?"

The Vulkin hiccuped and looked up at her, a small smile started to form on it's face, but it quivered. "Yeah, lost..."

"Do you wanna come with us? Maybe you will see something you recognize."

The Vulkin paused for a moment and seemed to consider the offer. "... Yeah" It said finally in a quiet voice.

Suzy nodded then glanced back at Flowey. "Okay, release it."

The vines unraveled and slithered back into the ground. The Vulkin rose to it's feet warily, but soon forgot it's apprehension and happily trotted to Suzy's side. "Thank you!"

They carried on down the path, the Vulkin followed along happily behind as though nothing had happened, even with Flowey's occasional pained groans. Along the way they passed a high security safe on a wooden table, inside appeared to be a piece of cheese. They decided not to question it. After riding two separate sets of conveyor belts they finally saw the end of their path... as well as something unusual.

"Thank you!" The Vulkin chirped before it ran ahead for the elevator.

"Hee hee, cute little guys aren't they?" Suzy giggled as she watched it go. "I'm so happy to have finally met one! Thanks for talked me into this, Flowey. Even though you... ugh. Sorry." She gave him a sympathetic look but he turned away. He didn't need her pity.

They neared the strange object, it appeared to be a wooden station or stand. The roof was covered in half melted snow-slush which slowly slid down the slanted sides and splashed onto rock, evaporating immediately. On the counter were condiments ketchup and mustard and manning the station was... non other than Sans... and he was fast asleep. How many jobs did this guy have exactly?!

Suzy's eyes grew wide and she bounced up and down a little. "Oh, it's a food stand! Maybe he'll sell us something to heal you up!"

Oh dear, Flowey really didn't feel like having another encounter with that skeleton right now. "No, it's fine, really..."

But Suzy wasn't listening to him, she had already rushed to the stand and he only barely had time to hide. "Hello! Are you open? We really need some food, urgently."

Flowey could just see out from his hiding place at the back of Suzy's cloak. San's lazily opened one eye to regard his new 'customer'.

"... sup kid... urgently eh?"

"My friend is very hurt." She stated in a serious manor which her posture mirrored.

"really? i should be shutting shop but... well, never let it be said i won't help someone in need. one hot dog is 30g."

Suzy threw part of her cloak aside to reach her pockets, forcing Flowey to move to stay hidden. She fished around for several seconds then stopped, her shoulders slumping. "I don't have enough."

Sans regarded her, then shrugged and produced a bun containing a sausage-shaped seedpod of some sort "that's ok, here's one on the house. tell your friend to enjoy their 'dog." He handed it over, Suzy frowned and brought it up to her face. "yeah, apostraphe dog, short for hot dog, heh." He leaned back against one of the posts of his station. "so, will you tell me how they got hurt?"

"He was burned, badly." She said as she passed the 'dog back to Flowey who held it with a root.

"ah yeah, that's always the danger of Hotland, not exactly the best place for an evening stroll. _magma_ next time your friend should avoid coming here."

"Thank you."

"no problem kiddo." Suzy started walking towards the elevator. "one more thing, before you leave." San's called back, she stopped and turned to look at him. "ever seen or heard of a talking flower?" Oh damn how?! Suzy went rigid, she stared at San's stunned. "silly i know. it's probably just someone pulling a prank but i was told to keep an eye out, so i'm asking anyone who passes through."

 _No no no no no..._

"No." Suzy lied.

Sans just shrugged. "oh well, thanks anyway. you know, it must be getting late by now, you should be heading home."

"I am." She lied again "Bye, and thanks, again." She made a wave and started walking. She didn't turn around to see what Sans did next, so neither did Flowey.

Once safely inside the elevator with the cabin doors shut behind them, Suzy threw back her cloak and eyed Flowey sternly. "What the heck was that all about?!"

"I..." He wracked his brain for any explanation... then a sinking feeling set in as it dawned on him. "... May have played a prank on the king, earlier."

She stared at him for a good few seconds, then her stern expression broke and she threw her head back laughing. "Hahaha, oh my god! Wow... just wow... you have some real nerve!"

Flowey wasn't sure how he was supposed to feel, so he just smiled.

But Suzy seemed to flip a switch. "Eat that." She said, pointing to the 'dog still held in his roots.

He looked at it, even if he'd still had his sense of taste it didn't look like the most pleasant of things to put in his mouth... but Suzy's demeanor gave no room for compromise. She had a real forceful, caring side about her. It begrudgingly reminded him of his mother.

He took a reluctant bite, the energy of the food quickly spread through his body and began healing his wound. Suzy seemed to clam down. "By the way, thanks back there for not ratting me out..." he said between bites. "I thought for sure you were going to tell."

She shook her head. "No way! You're keeping my secret so i'm keeping yours!... Even if you are a right royal mischief maker."

Flowey chuckled and stuck out his tongue."Is that really the best you could come up with?"

She gave an amused smile. "Hey, give me some time and i'm sure I can think of better!"

"You have until we reach Waterfall."

The next floor they picked took them to a place that Flowey recognized. The lab he'd seen Alphys and Mettaton enter on his first loop through was there and barely a few feet away, in the other direction was the entrance to Waterfall.

"This is the correct floor!" He began taking note of the letter and number written above the elevator. "Okay, i'm going to rewind time now."

"Wait." Flowey stopped and stared at her, a little bemused. "Don't go back."

He was starting to feel a little annoyed. "You said you wanted to-"

"I know but I changed my mind... I don't want to forget everything that just happened."

Now she had second thoughts? She couldn't have mentioned this earlier? "We won't have very much time left for bug hunting."

"That's okay, I can come back another night. Helping out that Vulkin and getting to know you better is more than enough to make up for it." She gave such a warm, kind smile despite his irritated tone, it made he grew frustrated at himself again. He looked away and retreated further back into her cloak.

She just shrugged and headed towards Waterfall. It felt disappointing, not getting to use his powers, but at least there was an upside to this. It meant that he didn't need to spend a moment longer in this horrid, dry, unbearable heat!


	11. Forget-me-not

_"Do you believe in fate?"_

 _"No. Not anymore."_

 _"So then you used to? What changed your mind?"_

 _"... If you knew someone who always tried to do the right thing and they had everything they loved taken away from them, how could that be fair?"_

 _"Fate doesn't need to be fair."_

 _"Then what's the point of it? What purpose does it serve? Besides, I make my own fate now..."_

* * *

Drip... drip... drip...

The soft sound of dripping water echoed through the empty room, the scent of damp permeated the air. There was nothing to see, even the few luminous plants that grew in this small cave had dimmed and no fake stars shone without light for them to reflect.

Drip... drip... drip...

And he was alone, again. Suzy had left a while ago... he wasn't sure for exactly how long, it was hard to tell time here. He'd guided her to a patch of seagrass and they spent nearly an hour trying to find and catch bugs there before she'd had to leave.

Drip... drip... drip...

The rhythmic sound was soothing. As far as he knew, barely anyone was aware of this cave. Well, he'd never seen anyone come here on the first loop around, at least. He lowered his head and closed his eyes. He smiled. Suzy was a nice person, if a little annoying, and the night had been fun. He felt like _we might have been good friends if she'd been around back when I was..._

Drip... drip... drip...

 _Are you forgetting someone? You know who your best friend is, how could you abandon them?_

 _What? No! I would never abandon you, Chara! How could you even think that?!"_

"Stop crying."

Chara looked down at him as he sobbed into the flower-patch, their face blank and unblinking. Above the stars shone in such splendor as to bathe them both in ethereal light.

"I... I'm so sorry... I should have trusted you, Chara."

"I said stop crying. This isn't going to fix your mistake, is it?"

He brought his sleeve up over his eyes to dry his tears. "No... your right. You're always right." He pushed himself to his feet and stood to face his sibling, mustering a weak smile.

Chara smiled back, they wrapped their arms around his neck in a hug. "You see, this is much better, isn't it? I'm not mad at you."

"I screwed up." He scrunched up his eyes as more tears formed, trying to stop them from dripping onto Chara's shirt.

"Shhhhh..." They soothed, patting him lightly on the back. "Don't worry about that now. Just trust me next time, okay? Do you trust me Asriel?"

"Of course I trust you Chara!"

"Then you won't mess it up next time." They let go and stepped back.

He frowned. "Next time?..."

"Oh, don't be so silly! We can't let one little screw up stop us from freeing everyone, can we? They are still counting on us."

Asriel's eyes widened with horror "But how?! We don't have a plan!"

They just rolled their eyes and chuckled, then griped him by the shoulders and shook lightly as though to dislodge something obvious stuck in the back of his brain. "Of course we have a plan! It's the same as last time, silly."

"But... but we don't have any souls! We can't leave the Underground." He started hopping from foot to foot frantically as an unnatural sense of confusion and panic overcame him.

"Stop being such an idiot, you're smarter than this, little brother." Chara placed their hand on his arm in a gentle calming gesture. "I fell down, do you honestly think that in a hundred years, no other humans ever fell after me?"

"Well... no other humans ever fell before, and the barrier's been up for a long time so..."

They shook their head. "No human has ever SURVIVED the fall before. People have been disappearing on Mt. Ebott for a long time, it's in the legends, remember? But now they have something to land on."

"Those flowers?" Chara stared at him as though he'd just stated the obvious. Asriel lowered his gaze and decided to drop the question. "Where would they be?"

Chara regarded Asriel for a moment, then put on the smile which always creeped him out. "I'm sure dad knows."

He... what? "What are you saying?... Haha... you're joking right? No, he would never do something like that."

"You're in denial." They stated flatly.

"Am not!" He snapped back.

But Chara simply shook their head."Did you forgot what that skeleton said already? Where else would they go? Heard any mention of ANOTHER monster requesting humans be brought to them?"

"I..." He trailed off. This couldn't be true, his own father wouldn't... after everything he had done to prevent taking lives... kill innocent humans for their souls...

"Exactly."

"No." No sooner had the word passed his lips than he immediately regretted saying it. Chara's eyes glinted dangerously. They were mad at him. Very, undeniably angry.

"Say no to me one more time, I dare you." They said, their mouth contorting into a horrifying shape. "After what you did out there, after telling me that you trust me just now, you still have the NERVE to say no?" Their eyes clouded over and started to ooze gunky black liquid. "Well, you know what little brother? I AM right. You don't believe me right now but eventually you will see it for yourself, then you won't be able to deny it any longer. And when that time comes, i'm not going to be there to help you. You'll be all on your own."

The next moment was like a scene from a horror movie, Asriel could barely comprehend it. Chara's skin melted away from their face and pooled onto the ground like thick, sticky black tar. Next their body - now nothing more than a bare skeleton - collapsed into a heap and sunk into the inky blackness which was spreading outwards in all directions. The stars had stopped shining, the tar crept up his body and he tried to scream but he couldn't make a sound. He couldn't feel his arms, he couldn't feel his legs, just the tendrils of tar creeping higher and higher and high-

Drip... drip... drip...

He threw his eyes open and gasped as sweat ran down his face. _it wasn't really Chara. It wasn't really Chara. It wasn't really Chara. Chara would never do that. Chara would never do that..._

He repeated over and over in an effort to reassure himself. _It was just a dream, it wasn't real. It wasn't true._

Drip... drip... drip...

 _Calm... calm._ No matter how many times he had nightmares, these never got any easier... but he had to sleep. At least... at least in most of his dreams... he had his body back.

... It couldn't be true what Chara said, right? His dad killing humans and stealing their souls? Haha... haha... ha... ha...

Drip... drip... drip...

Don't be ridiculous... _my dad could never hurt another living thing... heck he... he even feels bad about pulling up weeds from the garden sometimes!"_

"Son, could you come over here for a moment? I need your help."

"Coming dad!"

He got up from the shining tiled floor where he'd been sat with his handheld games console. Asgore was knelt in the flowerbed tending to a patch of forget-me-nots, Asriel approached him eagerly.

"What do you need me to do?" He asked with a smile.

Asgore matched it. "These seedlings are very delicate. Can you see?" He pushed aside the stalks of some of the older plants so that Asriel could get a better look. "I am going to transplant them somewhere less crowded, but I need you to fetch me a pot to put them in. Can you do that for me?"

"Sure!" He bounded away gleefully and was halfway down the shimmering gold corridor before realizing that he didn't remember where any of the gardening tools were kept.

"Azzy!" He turned around. Chara, silhouetted by the light from the tall castle windows was running towards him with arms wide open. They caught him in an embrace before he could react. "I'm so sorry about earlier!"

"About what...?" He frowned, puzzled. What happened earlier that he couldn't remember?

"Let's forget about it... please? How about a game of hide-and-seek, to make up for it? You get to be seeker!"

That sounded like fun. "Okay! But you better start hiding because i'm gonna start counting right... now!"

He heard giggling and the tapping sounds of footsteps getting quieter as he covered his eyes and started counting. "One, Two, Three, Four..." Something felt weird but he didn't think too much of it. "Coming ready or not!"

How strange, the halls had gone dark; they looked dusty and cracked like an eon had passed in just a moment. He felt uncomfortable, but didn't think too much of it and walked into the garden. The entire area had been overgrown with brambles and vines which made it hard to traverse. Above, moonlight filtered through the cracks in the high cavern ceiling. Chara wasn't here, neither was his dad.

He walked out into a dull and featureless corridor and followed it. Stairs at the end led down into the basement. Aha, if Chara was hiding anywhere, they must be down here! He followed the stairs down, with each step the space around him grew darker and darker until he found himself standing in complete darkness, unable to see in any direction. Even the light from the top of stairs had disappeared.

Asriel was becoming uneasy. Forcing himself to stay calm, he focused his will into conjuring a fire in his palm. The flame was small, it flickered weakly, threatening to be extinguished at any moment but he was grateful to have it. He held it up and let it light up the room, feeling more confident as it grew and revealed a row of strange boxes that he'd never seen before.

He approached the nearest one and put his non-fire-bearing hand onto it. It was cold, rough, made from stone and easily large enough for someone small to hide inside. He grabbed a hold of the lid and tried to shift it, but it wouldn't budge. It was too heavy... huh, there was something engraved onto the front.

He squinted to read the inscription, but it was very hard to focus for some reason. The first line appeared to be gibberish but underneath was a word in much larger letters. If he tried hard, he could just about make it out. It read, 'CHARA'.

The flame in his hand extinguished suddenly and the darkness closed in again. He yelped out as a low, quiet noise began emanating from in front of him. It was getting louder... and louder... and louder. A horrifying laugh, hollow, twisted and insane. Terrified, he tried to run but he could barely move his legs and fell hard against the cold ground, shaking uncontrollably.

"Help! Please! Someone... anyone! Mom... dad... Chara... please help me! I'm... i'm so scared!"

But the darkness just laughed at him. It seemed to be getting closer, wrapping itself around him, breathing down his neck.

For a moment there was silence, then came a soft sound, a cracked and broken, poor imitation of his sibling's voice spoke dripping venom right into his ear. "... But nobody came."

Then it roared with laughter. He covered his ears and clamped his eyes tightly shut. _This isn't real. This isn't real. This isn't real..._

Drip... drip... drip...

 _This isn't real. This isn't real. This isn't real!_ He shivered awake, this time it was tears rolling down his face. The dream was already fading away as his recollection flooded back. Stone boxes... tombs. Something that humans used to contain their dead until they could turn to dust... he shivered again.

Drip... drip... drip...

Ugh... he didn't want to go to back to sleep. He didn't feel rested at all but, somehow... he got the impression that sleeping wasn't going to help him all that much tonight.

He dug down and burrowed away from the damp, dark cave and resurfaced in the Wishing Room, the most beautiful sight in all of Waterfall... and at this time of night it was all to himself.

 _Who needs sleep?!_ He thought defiantly, gazing upwards while stifling a big yawn. _I have the stars!_


	12. Morning Practise

Thump, thump, thump, thump, CRUNCH!

"ARRchh!" Flowey hissed as something heavy crushed down against his fragile body.

"OH NO, I'M SO SORRY!" The weight lifted, he looked up. Papyrus, who was wearing what appeared to be homemade jogging gear was staring down at him looking frantic. "ARE YOU HURT SMALL FLOWER PERSON?!"

Ugh... he must have fallen asleep in the middle of the path. He looked at the damage to his stem, it was minor and would heal itself given enough time... though it did sting a little...

"It's okay, i'm fine..." He winced, pulled himself up to his full height then putting on a smile to calm the skeleton.

Papyrus simply frowned and shook his head. "NO. THERE IS NO EXCUSE, I SHOULD HAVE BEEN PAYING ATTENTION! I SHALL MAKE IT UP TO YOU!... SOMEHOW..." He brought a gloved hand up to his jaw and seemed to ponder it for a moment. "I KNOW! AFTER TRAINING I WILL BRING YOU SOME OF MY DELICIOUS SPAGHETTI! AND I'LL PUT EXTRA EFFORT INTO THIS BATCH TO SHOW HOW SORRY I AM!

Great, more food he couldn't taste, just what he needed... though this training did sound interesting. Papyrus wanted to be in the Royal Guard, right? Well, It looked like he'd just found his next project.

"That's okay, you don't need to go to all that trouble for me, really. Though I would be interested to know more about this training you mentioned?"

"WELL, IF YOU ARE SURE... BUT I MUST STILL MAKE IT UP TO YOU... OH, I KNOW! AS YOU SEEM INTERESTED IN MY TRAINING, I WILL ALLOW YOU TO TAG ALONG FOR MY MORNING PRACTICE!"

Perfect. "That sounds great!"

"OF COURSE IT IS, THE GREAT PAPYRUS ALWAYS FINDS A WAY TO MAKE PEOPLE SMILE!"

Flowey twisted on the spot to relieve some of the stiffness in his stem, then ducked underground and popped back up slightly ahead of the skeleton. "My name is Flowey by the way."

Papyrus seemed confused for a moment, but smiled when he spotted Flowey up ahead. "IT IS NICE TO MEET YOU FLOWEY! AND I'M SURE UNDYNE WILL BE DELIGHTED TO MEET YOU, TOO!"

The two traveled side-by-side through the damp Waterfall caves. Flowey remained mostly underground, popping up occasionally to get his bearings (memorizing the lay of the land was a little tricky when you're main form of navigation involved vague magical signals in an otherwise sea of nothing) and to reassure the skeleton that he was still there. After several minutes of walking and the crossing of a large body of water, he decided to strike up a conversation.

"Is Undyne the person you're on your way to train with?" He asked from the shore of the dark lake as Papyrus stepped off a long wooden bridge.

"YES, SHE IS A GREAT WARRIOR AND WITH HER GUIDANCE, SOME DAY, I TOO SHALL BE JUST AS GREAT... MAYBE EVEN LEAD THE ROYAL GUARD MYSELF!... OR MAYBE NOT."

"Well, she sure sounds great!" He chuckled internally but tried not to show it, then added. "Oh, do you want to lead the Guard some day?"

"I..." Papyrus looked conflicted, he stopped walking for a moment, Flowey took the opportunity to duck down and surface in front of him. "NO."

Huh, up until now Flowey had gotten the impression that Papyrus aspired to reach the top, but it appeared that this wasn't his motivation? "So why do you want to get in?"

"WHY WOULDN'T SOMEONE AS GREAT AS ME WANT TO BECOME A PART OF THE ROYAL GUARD?" Papyrus made a dramatic pose before walking on, Flowey snickered at his oblivious vanity. "I WILL BECOME A FAMOUS GUARDSMEN! AND EVERYONE WILL WANT TO BE MY FRIEND!"

So, he wanted fame? That made sense, his ego was big enough... though with that in mind, not aiming to lead was a little odd. He'd seemed dedicated enough to take the task on, anyway. Maybe there was more to it than that?

"I have no doubt that you will! I can tell you're the sort with the perseverance to pull it off."

Papyrus stopped and almost seemed to blush. "WHY THANK YOU FLOWEY! YOU KNOW... EVEN THOUGH WE HAVE JUST MET, YOU REMIND ME OF MYSELF. I SHALL BE SURE TO REWARD YOUR FAITH IN ME!"

They passed through the large cavern of luminous plants and water, Papyrus jumped over a small water channel while Flowey burrowed underneath and surfaced in the cave on the other side. The space felt like a sort of hub, several openings led to smaller caves where a few of the Waterfall residents had set up their homes, a couple of which he vaguely recognized. In the centre stood a pool of calm dark water, the tranquility of this cosy hollow filled Flowey with determination.

"UNDYNE'S HOUSE IS JUST OVER THERE." Papyrus pointed to an opening through which Flowey could just see the edge of an interestingly shaped house and a training dummy.

Papyrus trudged towards it and Flowey followed. The house appeared to be shaped like a giant fish, the doorway resembling a menacing set of pointed teeth. Papyrus smiled down at him, he looked excited. "READY?"

Flowey nodded. Papyrus appeared to crack his knuckles, then knocked on the door which almost immediately slid open with a thud as menacing as it's visage... and who was stood in the doorway? Non other than the fish monster he'd seen on his first loop around, the same one who'd comforted Alphys, but this time she wasn't wearing her armour.

She gave the skeleton a big smile. "Hello Papyrus, ready for training?"

"I SURE AM! AND THIS TIME I BROUGHT ALONG SOMEONE NEW!"

"Oh, that's nice. Hello..." Undyne appeared confused, she looked around either side of the skeleton before finally casting her gaze downwards. Her eyes widened when she spotted him.

He smiled as brightly as he could. "Howdy, i'm Flowey. It's nice to meet you."

"Hello Flowey." She put on a smile but he could tell it was strained, she glanced sideways at Papyrus and hissed a whisper under her breath that he could barely hear. "What sort monster are they?"

"A TALKING FLOWER MONSTER?" Papyrus whisper-shouted back, Undyne cringed.

"There's no such thing, and flowers don't talk!" She snapped before clamping her mouth shut and looking embarrassed.

The exchange was very amusing, Flowey could have sat and watched them argue but he had a mission to fulfill. "Say, I know this must be pretty confusing to you, and believe me, I understand! I don't want to get in the way, so, if you want, you can just pretend as though i'm not here? "

Undyne looked annoyed but forced a smile again. "No no, it was very rude of me and I apologize! Any friends of Papyrus are friends of mine!" She cleared her throat and looked back at Papyrus with a more natural expression. "Come inside, i'll make us all tea before we start." She turned to head back but stopped and eyed Flowey uncertainly. "Do you... need any help getting in?"

Now that she mentioned it, though he was more than capable of following them both inside on his own, she might not appreciate her floor tiles being dislodged in the process. He looked to Papyrus who seemed to get the message. He crouched down and held out an arm which Flowey was able to climb up, eventually settling his head over the skeleton's shoulder just as he'd done with Suzy.

After wiping his feet on the doormat, Papyrus followed Undyne into her house. It was a surprisingly airy space inside, the floor tiles were coloured in pastel shades of blue and yellow while the walls were covered in pastel pink and blue fishy wallpaper. Papyrus sat down at the wooden table as Undyne filled a kettle with water and placed it on the hob to boil. He felt tense, like he was eager to get going but was forcing himself to remain still. Flowey wanted to decline the tea but decided against it, instead he let his eyes wander around the room. There wasn't much to it, mostly a standard kitchen setup... apart from the piano on the far side. It looked well kept, he wondered if Undyne played it often...

"Here we are. Be careful, they're still hot." That was fast. Undyne brought over three steaming hot cups and placed them on the table before sitting down. "Always drink tea before a workout, it removes some of the tension from your muscles so you don't hurt yourself!" She smiled and looked at Flowey. "Asgore taught me that."

He eyed the dark liquid, it smelt good but looked far too hot to drink just yet. Papyrus however, had no such reservations. He grabbed his cup and started downing it straight away, apparently unaffected and possibly even oblivious to the scorching temperature. Undyne smiled as she too took a sip, _better bite the bullet_ Flowey sighed and picked up his cup with a root.

"Today we are going to start with a short jog, then I will be coaching you in magical technique against the training dummy. Your friend can stay and watch... If they like... I guess..."

Flowey took a sip, his mouth burned but he tried not to show the pain. "Sounds great, I'l be sure to cheer you on Papyrus!" He offered the skeleton a reassuring smile but Papyrus seemed strangely hesitant.

"UNDYNE, I NEED TO GO TO THE BATHROOM... RIGHT NOW... AND SO DOES MY FRIEND... RIGHT NOW... FOR NO PARTICULAR REASON OTHER THAN COMPLETE COINCIDENCE. WE SHALL MEET YOU OUTSIDE IN A FEW MOMENTS."

He hastily pulled away from the table causing piping hot tea to spill everywhere before Flowey could set his cup back down. They made their way out through the door and into the quiet area beside the pool of dark water. No one else was around.

"Did I say something wrong?" Flowey asked, confused and a little annoyed. At least his SAVE point was nearby if he'd somehow screwed up badly.

"YES... NO..." Papyrus looked away, clenching and unclenching his fists. "LOOK, I AM DOING YOU A FAVOUR BY ALLOWING YOU TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS PRACTICE, BUT I DON'T LIKE LYING TO UNDYNE... "

Flowey frowned, what was this skeleton going on about now? "Lying about what?"

"I CAN SEE THAT YOU ARE PLAY ACTING TO MAKE HER THINK THAT WE ARE FRIENDS AND I AM VERY FLATTERED THAT YOU WOULD DO THIS FOR ME BUT-"

"Well... why can't we be friends?" Flowey cut him off.

Papyrus furrowed his brow, it seems it was his turn to be confused. "YOU... YOU WANT TO BE MY FRIEND?"

Flowey attempted to give the impression of a shrug, which was difficult without any shoulders. "Why not, you seem like a cool guy."

"YOU REALLY THINK I'M COOL? I..." Papyrus was at a loss for words, he looked at Flowey with an expression of such animated happiness it was almost comedic.

"If you two are done we are starting. NOW!" Undyne called from outside her house. How long had she been standing there? Then again, not that it mattered...

After a short round of warm-ups and stretching the two monsters set out with Flowey still wrapped around Papyrus' arm. They leapt the small channel of luminous water into the larger cavern with ease and followed the path around, running into a small cave entrance which opened onto a stone walkway over another large and shallow body of water; one of the residents waved a tentacle as they passed. The next room looked much like the quiet area outside Undyne's house.

"Hey Shyren!" She called to a small floating fish monster and waved as they passed by.

"...Hi Undyne..." Came the quiet reply, then the timid monster dived into a pool of water and swam out of sight.

"You know, I used to give her piano lessons..." Undyne panted as they entered the next room. "... But one day she stopped showing up. She won't talk about why..."

Up ahead water poured down like rain from the cavern ceiling, they passed a strange and very weathered statue. It looked to have been there for a long time, but Flowey had never seen it before... It had an appearance similar to a Boss Monster...

"Where did that statue come from?" He asked as they jogged right by a bucket of umbrellas and into the foreseen downpour.

"Oh, that statue's been here forever... no one knows where it came from.

"WHAT STATUE?"

"... You never noticed?"

"NO TIME TO TAKE IN THE SCENERY, I AM COMPLETELY FOCUSED ON THE TASK AT HAND!"

Within seconds they were all completely drenched, but Undyne and Papyrus didn't seem bothered at all. He supposed that water wasn't really a problem when you didn't have skin or fur, it didn't bother him anymore, either. He looked at the puddles on the ground, watching his reflection distort as Papyrus' boots crashed down, sending splashes and ripples across the water's surface. Somehow, he felt a deep sense of sadness in the pit of his stem, but he couldn't quite describe it.

They reached a short cliff and the two monsters jumped it with surprising grace, the trail above led to a confusing set of wooden bridges and platforms. Undyne didn't hesitate, she negotiated the platforms with ease, recklessly jumping over gaps which, from the looks of it, led to a dangerously high drop into the dump.

"Fuhuhu!" Her eyes filled with determination and she smiled with each death-defying leap. Papyrus on the other hand, remained slightly more cautious about the path he took.

Eventually the two jumped down to a bridge on a lower layer and followed it to a cave opening through which they were able to drop directly into the quiet area.

"Heck yeah!" Undyne called in triumph, punching a fist into the air as she halted in front of her house. Flowey could hear Papyrus' breathing, he sounded more exhausted than her but hid it well. "Good job!" She praised as he came in just a few steps behind.

"You did really great!" Flowey mirrored the praise, the skeleton's face lit up.

"Now, onto the REAL training! Fuhuhu~" Undyne beamed devilishly and pointed to a spot on the ground in front of her training dummy.

Papyrus bent down and held out his arm, allowing Flowey slide off and plant himself back into the soil. The moisture around his roots came as something of a relief, even though he'd not been uprooted for all that long. The skeleton moved to stand in the spot Undyne had designated, he looked nervous.

She stood tall beside him with her arms behind her back. "Okay, let's start simple. Summon a wave of five, equal height white bullets."

Just as commanded, five identical white bones burst from the ground. They remained static while Papyrus waited on Undyne for further instruction.

"Okay, basic waveform! I want you to maneuver them into a column and hit the dummy."

He did so, the bones aligned obediently in front of him and left no marks on the ground as they glided effortlessly towards the training dummy, disappearing after each hit with a soft thud. The dummy showed little damage.

"You can hit harder than that! Now, do it again but this time form a row."

A row of white bones launched forwards, this time slightly faster. A tear formed in the fabric as three of the bones hit while the remaining two sailed straight past and dissipated against the cavern wall.

"Better, but you're still holding back too much! Same again... but this time CURVE them on approach!"

The bones started out as a straight row but curved in so that each hit the target simultanously sending a cloud of dust into the air.

Undyne grinned. "You've improved! Okay, that's enough basic stuff, onto advanced techniques! I want you to start varying the heights, dynamically."

Papyrus frowned and concentrated as he summoned up the next wave, each bone stretched and contracted in sync with each other. He sent them towards the dummy in a column, each one scraping against the fabric as they hit, by the time the last had dissipated a large hole had been carved into the front and the stuffing was spilling onto the ground.

"It's a good start but you made it way too easy to dodge. Try to make the patterns less predictable... and surround the target before striking!"

Papyrus hesitated. "THAT DOESN'T SEEM VERY FAIR."

"Do you know what a human is capable of? Because I sure as hell don't! If you want to take one down you better be prepared for ANYTHING! Now, attack the enemy with all you've got!"

Flowey had a pretty good idea about what a human was capable of, but he didn't say anything. He'd known what this training was for, he'd known that the goal of the Royal Guard had shifted from protection to capturing humans... but her comment brought this knowledge back to his conscious attention. And he didn't like it.

Papyrus quickly threw his reservations aside. The bones materialised from the ground, this time rising and falling in rhythmic but alternating patterns. They glided to the dummy in a much messier formation. Twisting and spinning, they encircled the target before crashing into it. The dummy exploded into a cloud of cotton and wooden splinters which flew in every direction, a stray chunk barely cleared Flowey's head.

"THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!" Undyne cheered while punching the air again.

Disembodied grumbling came from seemingly nowhere as the fragments of the dummy brought themselves back together and recombined to become just as pristine as though it had never been touched. It glared at them for a moment before resuming it's usual absent pose.

Undyne put her hand behind her head and smiled awkwardly. "Oh, sorry."

"It's fine. It's fine. IT'S FINE..." Well okay then...

"I guess we ought to give the dummy a break..." She materialized a spear in her hands. "Think fast!" And threw it to Papyrus who caught it easily, his body began sparkling with green magic.

He stared at the spear. "YOU WANT TO SPAR? NOW?"

Undyne formed another energy spear and rolled her shoulders, assuming a combat-ready posture. "Why not? It'll help me gauge your progress better! You get first attack!"

"WOWIE..." Uncertainty flashed across his face but was quickly replaced by a cunning smile. "WELL IN THAT CASE..." Hes said slyly "I HAVE AN ATTACK THAT I THINK YOU MIGHT FIND VERY... GROUNDING."

He raised a hand and several ethereal looking cyan bones and one slow white bone materialized around Undyne. She remained perfectly still as the light blue bullets passed harmlessly through her, all while looking slightly bored.

"Have you been taking combat advice from your brother again?" Then blue magic sparked across her skin and she almost fell to her knees as the white bone barely cleared her shins. "Now THAT'S what I like to see! En garde!"

Her grin stretched from ear to ear, in fact, both combatants had similar expressions on their faces. A volley of spears appeared from behind her and moved at a moderate pace towards Papyrus. Using the spear she had given him he blocked each one with ease.

"WHO IS HOLDING BACK NOW?"

A row of six white bones rose from the ground and oscillated as they curved around Undyne who jumped them with slightly more effort than would otherwise have been expected. The blue magic looked to be weighing her down.

"Oh, you really shouldn't have said that!"

She looked devilish, spears appeared to either side of Papyrus, this time moving slightly faster. He blocked the first but was grazed by the second and third before managing to block the remainder. He cringed slightly, but Flowey knew that the lack of harmful intend made the hits little more than slaps on the wrist.

He summoned his next volley, multiple rows which gradually rose and fell in a prism shape. Undyne had to take a running jump to clear them, she cackled as the last bones passed beneath her feet and hit the ground with surprising grace.

"You're doing great, but you need to work on your footwork!" The spear in Papyrus' hands disappeared along with the green magic which had been covering his body.

Undyne tapped her spear to the ground and patches of white magic appeared beneath his feet, he jumped away as they erupted into more spear-shaped bullets.

"UNDYNE?!" He protested nervously as he danced across the cave floor, avoiding contact with most of the spears.

The spears stopping coming. "Is there a problem Papyrus?"

"FOR ME? OF COURSE NOT!" He folded his arms and shook his head defiantly. "I JUST... DON'T THINK YOU SHOULD BE USING THAT ATTACK WHILE FLOWEY IS AROUND." Huh, what? Was Papyrus using him as a scapegoat now?

Undyne looked at Flowey and frowned. "Why not?"

Papyrus stuck to his conviction. "WHAT IF ONE OF YOUR SPEARS RANDOMLY APPEARS UNDERNEATH HIM?" ... He sounded serious, was he genuinely concerned?

"So what? They wanted to be here, they should be prepared for a few cuts and scrapes. It's not like we're fighting for real..." She dismissed him and resumed her fighting posture. "Anyway, it's your turn."

They sparred for the better part of a half hour, exchanging waves of bones and spears in increasingly elaborate patterns while switching in and out of blue and green magic modifiers. Papyrus had incredible stamina, he took a great deal more punishment from Undyne's more advanced attacks without faltering than Flowey had expected... yet he got the impression that he was holding himself back more than he needed to be. And it looked like Undyne felt the same way, he could see it on her face, she was enjoying herself but behind her eyes was a hint of frustration which Papyrus seemed oblivious to.

A bone sailed close and Flowey pulled himself underground then popped back up after it had passed. "That should be enough for today, good fight!" Undyne dismissing her spears and walking over to Papyrus to give him a good, hard pat on the shoulder. They both looked exhausted.

"WOWIE, THANK YOU UNDYNE!" He panted.

She paused to catch her breath before speaking again. "I need to go over the guard reports now, but we'll train again same time tomorrow okay?"

"I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS SHALL NOT LET YOU DOWN!"

She smiled broadly at him. "That's the attitude I like to see!" Then walked to her house, turning around at the door to call back to call back. "See ya later Papyrus!" Then the door shut behind her.

Papyrus stared after her for a moment. The quiet felt awkward, Flowey decided to say something. "I was really impressed by your skills back there Papyrus."

That seemed to snap him out of it. "WELL OF COURSE YOU WERE! I AM REALLY GREAT AFTER ALL."

Flowey held back a snort. "So, do you think she'll be letting you into the Guard soon?"

"OF- OF COURSE! THERE ARE STILL SEVERAL MORE ADVANCED TECHNIQUES THAT I NEED TO LEARN FIRST, BUT I AM SURE THAT I WILL REACH THE END OF MY TRAINING SOON. UNDYNE SAYS THAT I'M PROGRESSING WELL!"

That falter... did the skeleton doubt himself? "Well, If it were up to me you would be in already!" He would need to speak to Undyne about Papyrus' training at some point, the fish monster seemed to know the skeleton very well. In the mean time an idea occurred. "Say... could you train me?"

Papyrus looked surprised. "TRAIN YOU FLOWEY? I-"

"It was an idea I just had. My mom used to say that the best way to understand something was to teach it to someone else, so I thought, why not? That way you get to practice and I get to learn some cool fighting moves!" He had to admit that watching them spar did look like fun and he'd wanted to join in once or twice...

Papyrus brought his hand to his chin and considered it for a moment. Then, finally, he put it down and smiled."WELL, AS YOU ARE MY COOL NEW FRIEND, I SHALL AGREE TO TRAIN YOU IN THE ART OF MAGICAL COMBAT! IN FACT, WITH MY GUIDANCE YOU MAY EVEN MAKE THE GUARD YOURSELF! NYEH HEH HEH!"

Well, that'll be the day...


	13. Comedians

Flowey gazed lazily across the snow as Papyrus, huffing and shaking his head, tore away at the sodden cardboard sides of his 'sentry station'.

"THIS IS THE FOURTH TIME IN TWO MONTHS. WHO KEEPS SABOTAGING MY MASTERWORK?!"

He ripped out the lower corner and the other three sides slumped slowly into a collapsing heap. Papyrus clearly didn't understand how snow worked.

"SIGH..." He slumped a little "LOOKS LIKE I'LL HAVE TO REPLACE THE ENTIRE THING. SORRY FLOWEY, YOUR TRAINING WILL HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL THIS IS DONE."

Flowey had been following Papyrus around for several hours moving from puzzle to puzzle, shifting things around and making sure they all worked. This was just another inconvenience, but he didn't mind spending the time with the skeleton, Papyrus was actually pretty funny.

"How about building it out of wood this time instead?" He suggested in a helpful tone.

Papyrus frowned and knelt down to scoop up the remains of his 'masterwork'. "BUT I ALWAYS BUILD MY STATIONS OUT OF CARDBOARD." He protested. "THE BOXES ALREADY COME IN A CONVENIENT SENTRY STATION SHAPE!"

"Wood would be a lot less easy to 'sabotage', and I can help you build it."

"THANK YOU FOR THE OFFER BUT NO. THIS IS SOMETHING I NEED TO DO MYSELF. HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO PROVE HOW GREAT I AM IF I'M NOT THE ONE DOING THE WORK? EVEN SANS BUILT HIS OWN..." He stood back up, arms overflowing with the cardboard he could barely contain. "IT'S PRETTY GOOD ACTUALLY, BUT DON'T TELL HIM I SAID THAT! HE'LL GET EVEN MORE COMPLACENTLY LAZY THAN HE ALREADY IS..." Papyrus sighed "I WISH HE WOULD PUT AS MUCH EFFORT INTO HIS SENTRY DUTIES AS HE DID INTO THAT MACHINE."

A machine? Flowey's curiosity was piqued, did this machine have anything to do with the strange task Sans had been given by Asgore? Whatever it was, it had certainly sounded like something they both took seriously.

"WAIT HERE, I WILL BE BACK MOMENTARILY!"

Before Flowey could open his mouth a loud crash sounded from the nearby trees. A blue birdlike monster ran across the path with its wings covering its face.

"Please come back, he didn't mean it Snowy!" A similar looking green monster wearing shades rushed to their side and brought his own wing over Snowy's shoulder.

"Yes I did."

The green bird puffed up and spun around to sneer at the voice's owner, still half hidden in the trees. "Fuck off Jerry!"

"LANGUAGE!" Papyrus snapped. "DO YOU KISS YOUR MOTHER WITH THAT MOUTH?"

The teenagers stopped in their tracks, the green bird glared at the skeleton. "I don't give a shit what you think!" He retorted scathingly as wild magic began to crackle in and out of existence around him. The blue bird wriggled out from under his wing and ran into the trees on the other side. "Snowy wait!" He chased after them while Jerry watched and laughed.

"So lame you can't handle the truth!" He called as he plodded behind. Was this guy really that oblivious?

Papyrus watched the whole spectacle looking a little crestfallen. "WELL ANYWAY, I'LL BE BACK IN A MOMENT..." He said, then walked away.

Flowey stared at the treeline where the teens had disappeared. What was that all about? It was probably just overblown drama... but he was curious, and he had time to kill while Papyrus was away anyway. Better set a SAVE point down first, just in case...

He ducked underground and attempted to follow their trail through the forest. It didn't take long before he could hear the snapping of branches and faint crunch of pine needles nearby.

"Why are you still following us?! Seriously Jerry this isn't funny, you went too far this time!"

"He's just too sensitive. If I didn't say it someone else would."

"You're a real piece of work you know that?"

"Pff... tomorrow we'll all be laughing about it. Now can we get out of here already? The pine needles are hurting my feet!"

"Go hang out with the Icecaps. You aren't welcome with us!"

"Whatever. You guys are total losers anyway..."

He surfaced to witness Jerry plodding away while the green bird monster glared daggers into his back. _if looks could kill_. Once he was gone, the bird turned his attention back to his friend who had finally stopped moving and now quivered and sobbed under his wing. Neither monster had spotted Flowey yet.

"Howdy." He said quietly.

The green bird puffed up. "Leave us alone! Sno-" He cut off when he spotted the source of the voice. "Hey, didn't I see you with that skeleton dude?... What even are you?"

"Oh, my name's Flowey. Flowey the flower... heh... I just came by to see if your friend there was alright..." He tried to use a disarming tone, it appeared to work.

The green bird visibly relaxed and the blue bird peeked out from under his wing. Their sobbing stopped for a moment when they spotted him, a flicker of curiosity flit across their face.

"A... talking flower, okay, that's a new one." The green monster raised an eyebrow behind his glasses. "You should leave, my friend doesn't need your concern."

"Wait, it's - _hick_ \- okay Chilly. I'm fine." The blue bird finally spoke up, he brushed his friend's wing aside. "I'm Snowdrake, and this is Chilldrake, but we just go by 'Snowy' and 'Chilly'. It's very _ice_ to meet you!"

The birds snorted at the bad pun and started laughing, but Snowdrake soon descended into sobbing again.

"I'm... i'm just gonna go for a walk, i'll be back in a bit..." He said then slowly waddled away leaving Flowey and Chilldrake together.

They stared after him, Chilly still looked concerned but not as defensive as before. Eventually Snowy walked out of sight and Chilldrake let out a long sigh.

"He isn't normally like this, ya know. When someone's feeling down, Snowy's always the one to lighten the mood and make everyone laugh... It's kinda weird to see him so down, it makes me mad." His eyes glazed over and he flexed and unflexed his wings.

He looked... contemplative? Flowey was uncertain about what to say, but decided to push for more information. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Well, You could have laughed at his pun!" Chilldrake snapped suddenly, the air filling with white magic. "The guy just had a massive row with his dad, how-" He stopped himself, but the damage was already done. Chilldrake turned away and cursed under his breath at his own outburst.

Such a display of emotion. Flowey remembered that feeling, that aggressive indignation in defense of another, it had felt like such a noble emotion at the time. Now he almost felt bad for finding the bird's rant so amusing. Almost. The information given away was interesting, too.

Chilldrake took a deep breath and tried again. "Sorry, I don't usually lose my chill like that... it's just a very touchy subject, so don't bring it up, okay? And laugh at his jokes... even if sometimes they aren't the best. My bud means well and he doesn't deserve the crap he's going through right now."

A project for later then. "I understand. Maybe i'll see you around at a better time?"

"Maybe. You seem nice enough so I'll give you a chance. If you wanna hang out, we'll be in the woods after school every day and all day on weekends. The forest is our element... and yours too from the looks of it. Literally."

Flowey was confused for a moment but then the realization clicked and he looked down at his floral body. "Oh, i'm not a forest flower."

"Then what sort of flower are you?"

He smiled slyly, this looks like a good opportunity to have a bit of fun. "I wasn't always a plant you know. Once I was a very wise monster indeed." He paused to check Chilldrake's expression, but it was hard to make out behind his sunglasses. "Yeah, I told the best advice, helped everyone, solved all their problems. You could say I was a real _sage_."

Chilly put his wing over his beak to cover a snort. "So what happened?"

"Well my _thyme_ ran out, and I came back as a re-in- _carnation_."

Childrake couldn't stifle himself any longer and burst out laughing. Flowey felt dirty for using those terrible plant puns. His mother would have been proud.

"Hey, I'M the comedian around here!" They turned to see Snowdrake watching them from the trees, looking a little peeved.

"Hey dude, feeling better now?" Chilly called to him.

There was a pause before he answered. "Yeah it's _cool_ now, i'm totally _chilled_ out. Heh heh..." The puns felt forced, he still seemed to be having difficulty keeping himself together, but Flowey laughed along anyway.

It seemed to brighten him up a bit, Chilldrake looked pleased. "I'm gonna call the Icecaps and ask if anyone's with them right now." He stated while extracting a phone from his plumage.

Snowy nodded, then Flowey remembered he was supposed to be waiting for Papyrus. "I need to go. See you guys again some time."

"Later dude."

"Later."

As he burrowed away, he soon realized that he was deeper into the woods than he'd first thought. Finding the location of Papyrus' sentry station was proving tricky, he skirted the treeline and eventually heard the familiar sound of Papyrus' voice; he was calling his name.

"FLOWEY! FLOWEY ARE YOU THERE?!"

"maybe something came up and he had to go?" Sans' voice.

Flowey decided not to reveal himself right away, he surfaced instead behind a tree to watch. The two skeletons were standing around a fresh cardboard box, Papyrus looked frantic while Sans leaned against a nearby tree, his smile was still plastered across his face. Could he even move his jaws?

"HE WOULD HAVE LEFT A NOTE! FRIENDS DON'T JUST LEAVE WITHOUT SAYING SOMETHING!" Papyrus refuted while stomping the ground.

"well, i guess he's not as great a friend as you thought he was?"

Ouch, Sans. _I might not have a soul but I am trying to be nice!_

"WHAT IF HE GOT HURT? WHAT IF HE GOT LOST? WHAT IF HE GOT TAKEN?... SANS, WHAT IF A HUMAN CAME THROUGH AND KILLED HIM... AND I WASN'T THERE TO PROTECT HIM?!"

Papyrus was freaking out, he gripped his head with his gloved hands and was marching in circles. Sans made very little movement as he regarded his brother, only a slight change to his brow betrayed his concern.

"tell ya what bro. i'll do a sweep of snowdin right now, and if i find your flower friend or any humans, i'll let you know. k?"

Papyrus visibly calmed down, he stopped moving and smiled at his brother. "THANK YOU SANS..."

Sans started walking in Flowey's direction, he was about to duck underground when the skeleton became obscured by a tree and didn't reappear out the other side. What? Was Sans really so lazy that he would promise something important to his brother, only to hide in the woods? Flowey moved to get a look around the other side of the tree... Sans was gone.

"heya buddy."

He spun around with a start, Sans was leaning against the tree behind him. He wasn't there a second ago. "How did you...?"

"shortcut. and to answer your next question, yeah, i saw you. yellow and green on white is kinda hard to miss."

Unease welled in his stem, what else did this skeleton know that he wasn't letting on? "Then why didn't you say anything?"

"and upset my brother? telling him his new best pal is watching him suffer from the sidelines instead of rushin in to apologize? some friend you are... but then again, i guess i couldn't expect much else. i'll be honest with you bud, when i look at you i feel like i'm starin into a void. it kinda creeps me out."

Flowey's eyes widened. "You... you know I don't have a soul?"

"i wouldn't be much good at my job if i couldn't read people, but i try to give everyone the benefit of the doubt. my brother seems to be pretty taken by you, so it would be a shame if you didn't turn up and apologize to him. i suggest you go do that."

Sans pushed himself to a stand and put his hands in his jacket pockets, then lazily walked behind the nearest tree and vanished. That was it. That was the evidence Flowey needed to confirm that his initial feelings towards that skeleton weren't just unfounded paranoia. That guy knew more than he let on, was more perceptive than anyone should have any right to be... and it scared him.

But... perhaps he could be won over? Flowey didn't want to be in conflict with Sans. If the guy knew anything about souls, enough to recognize the lack of one, then maybe... he also might know a way to help Flowey feel again? And this situation was a terrible start towards that goal! He closed his eyes and concentrated, pulling himself into the time-frozen void.

 _Continue?_

 _Yes._

Flowey watched as Papyrus walked away with the sodden remains of his sentry station, still holding himself dejected after Chilldrake's outburst.

Snowey's problems would have to wait.


	14. Grounding

When Papyrus returned Sans was with him. They chatted as they walked, though the conversation went strangely quiet once they neared Flowey. Sans stood back to watch as his brother assembled the new 'sentry station'. He gave off the air of casual disinterest with his slightly slumped posture and hands in his jacket pockets, but Flowey knew better. Call it instinct, but he could feel the skeleton's white pinprick pupils boring into his back whenever his head was turned. He was also unsurprising to hear that Sans wanted to be present for the training he and Papyrus had arranged. Perhaps he was afraid of what Flowey would do? Of what someone like him was capable of doing? Flowey would be sure to put those doubts to rest.

After a short hike through the forest the three arrived in a clearing well away from monster habitation. The snow here was churned and brown, filled with furrows and boot-marks.

Papyrus ran up ahead with a grin and held his arms wide. "WELCOME TO MY PERSONAL PRACTICE GROUND!" He announced, then put on a sly smile. "I TRY TO KEEP THIS AREA CLEAR OF PLANTS AND SHRUBS, BUT TODAY I WILL MAKE AN EXCEPTION! NYEH HEH HEH..."

"i'll be over here if you need me, pap." Sans said lazily as he wandered up to the treeline and pulled out a crumpled up magazine from his hoodie pocket.

Papyrus sighed. "IF YOU INSIST, SANS. AND YOU ARE SURE SOMEONE IS COVERING YOUR STATION?"

"yeah doggo's watchin it, don't worry." He answered without looking up from his mag.

Papyrus frowned skeptically but shook his head. He walked to the middle of the clearing and indicated to Flowey where he wanted him to stand, which Flowey obliged.

"NOW, AS YOU KNOW, SKELETONS LIKE MYSELF USE MAGIC IN THE SHAPE OF BONES." Papyrus said while making the shapes with his hands. "WHERE AS UNDYNE FORMS HER MAGIC INTO SPEARS, WHICH WORK EVER SO SLIGHTLY DIFFERENTLY! SO." He paused, finger raised. "IF I AM GOING TO TRAIN YOU, I MUST FIRST KNOW HOW YOUR MAGIC WORKS!"

Oh, this shouldn't be too difficult. "Well, I can conjure vines and bullets...?"

"BULLETS? JUST REGULAR OLD BULLETS? WAIT... WHAT SORT OF BULLETS WOULD A FLOWER USE? LEAF SHAPED BULLETS? BUTTERFLY SHAPED BULLETS? THOSE-SHARP-THINGS-THAT-ALWAYS-SNAG-ON-MY-CLOTHES-WHENEVER-I-GO-PAST SHAPED BULLETS?"

"the word you're looking for is 'thorn', bro." Sans supplied helpfully.

"RIGHT. THANK YOU." Papyrus turned to him briefly then back to Flowey. "THORN SHAPED BULLETS?"

Flowey thought back to the prank he'd pulled on his dad, the magic really was as basic as you could get. "Seed shaped I guess?" How boring. Oh well, as a physical being without a soul, at least he could use magic at all. For that he was grateful. "I'll show you."

He summoned a single, small pellet and let it twist and spin in the air in front of him. Like a string-less marionette in the hands of a novice.

Papyrus bent down to get a better look, he smiled at its mesmerizing movements. "YOUR MAGICAL PROJECTILES MAY NOT HAVE THE SAME EYE-PLEASING AESTHETIC OF MY OWN, BUT I CAN TELL YOU HAVE A LOT OF POTENTIAL!"

Flowey smiled. "Want me to show you the vines too?"

Papyrus shook his head. "ENTANGLING YOUR OPPONENT IS NOT HONORABLE PRACTICE... UNLESS YOU GIVE THEM A SPEAR." He straightened up and put a hand on his hip. "NOW, WHAT WAS IT THAT UNDYNE WOULD DO FIRST?... OH YES. FLOWEY, I WANT YOU TO SUMMON FOUR MORE OF YOUR SEED-BASED PROJECTILES!"

Flowey did as Papyrus asked and four more little bullets joined the first in the air, barely controled and dancing lazily in the soft breeze while their master awaited his next instruction.

"VERY GOOD. NEXT WE NEED TO FIND YOUR 'GROUNDING', THAT IS THE NATURAL FORMATION YOUR MAGIC WILL ALWAYS TRY TO TAKE. FROM THAT, WE CAN DEDUCE YOUR... URM... 'MAGICAL ELASTICITY'?"

"getting pretty technical there pap, did undyne teach you all that?"

"YES!... SORT OF. SOME OF IT MIGHT BE FROM SNOWDIN LIBRARY I'M NOT SURE..."

"My... grounding?" Flowey was starting to get confused, he wasn't convinced that even Papyrus understood what he was going on about.

"HOW DO I EXPLAIN THIS IN SIMPLE TERMS..." Papyrus frowned while stroking his chin, he then turned around to snap at his brother. "SANS, A LITTLE HELP HERE?!"

Sans closed his magazine and put it in his pocket. He gazed upwards as though in thought, then his pupils shifted back to Papyrus as he spoke. "think of magic as working kinda like a car. cars have a set of gears, if you pick the wrong gear the car stalls out. with cars, the gear you pick depends on how fast you're going, but with magic, it depends on what kinda monster you are. so your grounding is the gear your meant to drive in, and your elasticity is how many gears up and down you can go from that gear before you stall. hows that pap?"

Papyrus continued to frown at his brother, seemingly unsure of what to think of the 'explanation'. "...ADEQUATE. THANK YOU, SANS." Sans gave a shrug then extracted his magazine and went back to reading. Papyrus shifted his attention back to Flowey. "OKAY, SO MAKE YOUR MAGIC TAKE WHATEVER FORMATION IT WANTS TO BE IN THE MOST."

Flowey urged the bullets to move, he twirled them around in the air, trying out all different speeds and shapes. They glided with ease and little resistance, whatever this 'stalling out' Sans had been going on about, he hadn't reached it yet. Eventually he found patterns which seemed to tug at his concentration less than others. He followed them to their natural conclusion, ending with all five bullets circling lazily above his head. The simplest pattern of all.

He smiled at Papyrus. "I think I found my grounding."

"GOOD." Papyrus said, mirroring his smile. "THAT MEANS THAT... URM... I DON'T ACTUALLY KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS, I HAVE NEVER SEEN ANYONE WITH THAT GROUNDING FORMATION BEFORE!" He paused. "I'LL ASK UNDYNE ABOUT IT TOMORROW!"

Flowey glanced at Sans, the skeleton made no indication of paying attention, but Flowey suspected that he was.

Papyrus continued. "NEXT WE NEED TO-"

"How's this?" Flowey interrupted before the next instruction could be given.

He started ordering his bullets into the formations that he'd seen Papyrus use during his own training session. Hovering just above ground level, a column became a row became a wave all holding formation for a few seconds at a time. Flowey looked up a Papyrus to see him expression, expecting him to be pleased. Instead he was frowning.

"I DIDN'T TELL YOU WHAT TO DO YET! ALTHOUGH... YOU DO SEEM TO HAVE A VERY GOOD GRASP ON BASIC BULLET CONTROL ALREADY!" He brought his hands to his face in another one of his signature overly-animated poses. "WOWIE, I MUST BE A GREAT TEACHER!" He cleared his throat, attempting to look more serious. "NEXT WE WILL NEED... A TARGET..." He looked around the barren clearing for anything usable. His face fell when all he saw was unusable slush, but after a moment something seemed to click and his face lit up again. "ONE MOMENT PLEASE."

Papyrus ran to the treeline and gathered up a large armful of snow. It was quite comical to watch, his thin, skeletal arms could barely contain it all and much of the snow spilled out, leaving a trail as he rushed back into the center of the clearing. He dumped the load only about a meter away from Flowey then crouched down and set to work patting the mound into a shape that slowly started to resemble an everyman. After a minute Papyrus stood up and smiled, seemingly pleased with his quick work. The snow target now had a more skeleton-like appearance about it, but was still nowhere near intricate enough to be recognized as any specific kind of monster.

He turned back to Flowey. "ATTACK THE TARGET."

Flowey looked at Papyrus questioningly, he wasn't going to specify how he wanted the snowmonster attacked? Well, okay then. He maneuvered his bullets to form a circle at around head height, surround the target, then sent them in one by one. They made soft sounds as they impacted the snow, but did very little damage.

"YOUR PRECISION IS EXCELLENT." Papyrus praised, but he frowned as he inspected the impact holes. "BUT YOUR TECHNIQUE IS GOING TO NEED WORK." He stepped back and raised an arm. "BUT NO WORRIES! FOR I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS SHALL GIVE YOU A DEMONSTRATION!"

A set of bones appeared along the ground in an arrow shape, the length of the bullets increased gradually the farther back down the arrow they were set. They glided elegantly towards the target and plowed straight through, sending the top half toppling into the mud.

Flowey watched with curiosity and a twinge of apprehension. He hadn't seen that formation used during the earlier practice and if Papyrus wanted Flowey to replicate it, he was in for disappointment. "I don't think I can make a shape like that."

Papyrus smiled at him with reassurance. "THAT'S OK, I DON'T EXPECT YOU TO COPY MY ATTACK. IT WAS SHOWN PURELY AS A GUIDELINE." He started resembling the snowmonster. "WE ARE NOT WORKING ON ATTACK PATTERNS JUST YET ANYWAY."

Flowey lifted an eyebrow, then what were they working on? "So is this another one of those 'grounding' things?"

"SORT OF." Papyrus looked up from his sculpture. "I DID SAY THAT I NEEDED TO KNOW HOW YOUR MAGIC WORKS!"

Sigh... oh well, Papyrus knew more about magical combat than he did. He shouldn't have expected to do anything really cool straight away. anyway.

Papyrus patted down the last of the dirt-stained snow and stepped away from the snowmonster. "AGAIN."

Flowey conjured another five bullets and let them settle into a lazy circle above his head. He though about what Papyrus had just shown him and concentrated. He didn't need to replicate it, right? Just its effects. But.. his own bullets weren't like that, they were small and round compared to the long thin bones that Papyrus could create. So... he would need to get creative.

He unraveled the circle of bullets just as a crash sounded from the treeline but he ignored it, focusing all his attention on getting this next attack right. The bullets flicked out in a fan shape.

"Goshdarn teenagers, when I find you... i'll, I'LL!-" Out of nowhere a deer monster charged headlong into the snowmonster, three bullets struck its side before Flowey could respond. "OW! Why you... you little BUGGERS!"

The monster climbed to its feet unsteadily and held its head low and defensive with a snarl. Its eyes had been covered by fake googly ones and its antlers were a tangled mess. Something about its head was slightly unnerving.

"GYFTROT, WE ARE SO SORRY!" Papyrus rushed in to help, he reached out to grab the googly eyes but the monster moved its head away.

"That voice... you're one of those skeletons... Papyrus right? What are you... DID YOU DO THIS TO ME?!" It rounded on the skeleton viciously, hackles up. It looked like it were about to attack.

Part of Flowey found this funny, to his annoyance, but the situation couldn't be allowed to escalate. "We had nothing to do with it. I'm sorry for hitting you, you just kinda... stumbled into our training area."

"Your what?" Gyftrot turned to face his voice. it finally stood still long enough for Papyrus to remove the obstruction from its eyes. "Who are... what are you?" It looked around the clearing. "Where the heck am I?"

"PLEASE REMAIN CALM AND TELL US WHAT HAPPENED." Papyrus gave Gyftrot a concerned frown, but the deer monster still appeared suspicious, it narrowed its eyes as it looked between them.

"i love a good joke." Flowey spun around, he'd forgotten that Sans was still here. "but i would never pull a prank like this, and out of me and my bro, i'm the prankster king. so, i gotta ask... does papyrus really strike you as the sorta person who would do this?" Sans trudged into the clearing, hands in pockets, and stood beside his brother. "please calm down, gify, and tell us what happened."

Gyftrot glared at Sans. "I don't know!" It took a deep breath, visibly and forcefully calming itself down. "I was enjoying a midday nap when I hear giggling, so I open my eyes and find that I can't friggin' see anything!" It pawed at the dirty snow with one hoof and shook its head from side to side. "Gah, there's still stuff tangled up there... would you mind?"

Papyrus removed the remaining debris from Gyftrot's antlers, throwing them to the ground. Wire, string, scrunched up pieces of paper...

"Thank you." The deer monster let out a long sigh. "I just don't get it, they have the pick of the entire forest but they decide to pick of me instead!" It shook it's head and started to walk away, turning back briefly with a regretful look. "I'm sorry I accused you. I'll let you get back to your... whatever you were doing now."

Head bowed, the deer monster slowly disappeared into the forest, Papyrus watched it go while Sans walked back to the treeline. When all was calm and still again, Papyrus went about resembling the snowmonster for the second time.

Flowey watched him but wasn't really focusing. He wondered if what had happened to Gyftrot was in anyway connected to the incident he'd witnessed earlier with the teenagers. The debris from the deer monster's antlers was still on the ground, he gathered up the papers with a vine and sifted through them. Most of them were smeared and some of them were torn, making them almost impossible to read. Among them were drawings of varying skill levels, a sheet of jokes with many of the entries crossed out, schoolwork which looked like it'd been chewed up and... some photographs. Flowey recognized Chilldrake and Snowdrake in some of them, although most had been vandalized in some way. Huh.

"THE TARGET IS READY NOW!" Papyrus called, pulling Flowey out of his train of thought. He summoned five more bullets and- "WAIT!" Papyrus put one hand out and fished into his pocket with another, pulling out his phone and bringing it to the side of his skull.

 _Seriously?_

"HELLO UNDYNE. IT IS NICE OF YOU TO CALL BUT I'M- ... YES, IN FACT, HE'S HERE WITH ME RIGHT NOW! WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO- ...? HELLO, YES, I SHALL PASS YOU TO HIM NOW!" Papyrus walked back to Flowey with the phone held out. "SOMEONE IN WATERFALL WANTS TO TALK TO YOU."

Huh? He'd only started this timeline yesterday, who on earth could be looking for him already? Flowey dropped the papers and grasped the phone with his vine. It was weird, thin and with no keys on the front, just one big screen. It was nothing like the cell phones they'd had back in his lifetime... god, that made him feel old...

He tentatively brought it up to his face. "H-hello?"

"Hee hee. Heya Flowey."

That voice. His eyes widened, of course, who else would it be?! "Howdy Suzy... uh, what are you doing in Waterfall?!"

"Looking for you!"

Didn't she usually wait till nightfall to sneak out? "Why? ... and doesn't your-"

Suzy cut him off. "I told her I was spending the day at the park with some friends from school. My neighbor is vouching for me, it's fine."

"But why? Don't get me wrong, hanging out with you was fun but... that's a lotta effort to go to just to find me?"

"Because, my right royal mischief maker... I have a daring, dastardly plan that I think you will very much like to be a part of."

Oh geez, she had a prank of some kind planned, didn't she? "... What is it?"

"Hee hee, not telling. Come to Waterfall!"

This was infuriating. "Not until you tell me what it is."

"Hee hee, i'll give you a hint. ~ Hee hee, i'll give you a hint. ~" The words repeated, hushed and slightly distorted.

Flowey looked between the phone and Papyrus, he was curious about whatever she had in mind, but this wasn't the time. "I'm uh... kinda in the middle of something right now."

"~ I'm uh... kinda in the middle of something right now. ~" The phone echoed back.

Were they really going to do this? "Stop that." Flowey snapped.

"~ Stop that. ~" It repeated.

Flowey sighed, trying to stay calm. "Okay I get it. Now can I please stop speaking to a flower?!" ... Did he really just say that?

"Hee hee..."

He was starting to resent how easily Suzy could play him. With a sigh, he decided to compromise. "How about... I meet you in an hour?"

"You got a deal, partner." Flowey's nonexistent blood ran cold. Chara had always called him- "I'll meet you in the wishing room. Ciao for now! ... please don't be late."

The phone clicked and a dull tone sounded from the receiver. Suzy had hung up. Flowey handed the phone back to Papyrus. "I need to go in an hour." He said, still a little zoned out.

Papyrus put his hands on his hips. "WELL, THEN LET'S NOT DALLY AROUND! TWO INTERRUPTIONS IS MORE THAN ENOUGH FOR ONE TRAINING SESSION!" He pointed to the snowmonster. "PLEASE STRIKE THE TARGET."

The five bullets conjured before the phone call were still circling around Flowey's head. With a sigh of pent up frustration, he flicked them outwards at a speed much faster than he'd anticipated. They formed an edge and hit the snowmonster in the neck, cutting its head clean off. It topped to the ground with a soft thud and crumbled to pieces. Oddly satisfying.

"WOWIE!" Papyrus rushed over to inspect the wreck. "I'M SO GLAD WE AREN'T SPARING RIGHT NOW!"


	15. Flowers Who Speak, Flowers Who Listen

"So let me get this straight..." Flowey frowned up at Suzy who was busy attempting and failing to keep the hem of her cloak above the shallow water.

The two stood in a room just beyond the Waterfall wishing room, behind a patch of seagrass. It was secluded and hard to find... but a little too damp for either of their liking.

After Suzy's phone-call, Flowey had attempted to put his all into what little time remained of his training session with Papyrus, but the thoughts kept distracting him. After it was over he was half temped to reload to an earlier SAVE to try again... but he'd decided that would be pointless. Besides, there was no need to rush. He had all the time in the world...

Now he was attempting to get his head around what Suzy had just told him. "You want me to stand around in the Wishing room... pretending to be an echo flower? Why?"

"Aww, I thought you of all people would understand!" She giggled and tilted her head slightly to the side. "You never once used an echo flower to leave a silly message? Or at least thought about it? Hee hee."

He had, actually. Sometimes, especially when he was in a bad mood, Chara suggested coming down to Waterfall. They would leave messages in the flowers and watch and giggle as they played back to passing monsters. Chara really loved those flowers, they said the surface didn't have flowers like that...

"I'll take the silence to mean that you have." Suzy snapped him away from his thoughts. "So... what was it? It's okay, you can trust me. One prankster to another."

"Urm..." He wanted to fight the memories back down, but decided that would also be pointless; If he didn't give her an answer, she would just keep pushing him until he did. "We used to pretend the flowers were alive and make them call out for help and say things like 'i'm stuck to the ground and I can't feel my legs!'... but that caused a few misunderstandings..."

"We?" Uh oh. Next time he should really be more careful with his choice of words. "So..." Suzy continued. "Not only have you been here BEFORE... but you've also been here with another partner in crime?" He's such an Idiot. IDIOT."... Hehe, I KNEW IT! You are a terrible lair!"

Wait... so all that time in New Home she SUSPECTED that he was manipulating her... and she didn't SAY anything?! "If you thought I was lying, then why the heck did you trust me?!"

Suzy shrugged. "I didn't at first, but then I figured if I had your power I would probably be going around, fixing my mistakes and trying to make my friends happy... even if that meant I had to stretch the truth every now and then." It was hard to make out her expression, but her voice shifted lower. "Believe me, i'm no stranger to that."

Flowey frowned, this was an unwelcome tangent. He decided to get them back on topic. "You seem to have overlooked something in your grand plan; I don't look anything like an echo flower. From a distance maybe, but no one's going to be fooled up-close."

"Oh, did you think I didn't think of that? Hehe." She pulled out a small plastic pot from under her cloak, the label on it read 'Glow in the Dark Cyan'. "Don't worry, it's just face paint. It washes right off!" Flowey wasn't sure how to feel about this. "Oh, and I brought along these, too." She pulled out a pair of battered old plastic walkie-talkies. "Courtesy of the dump, I think they will come in very handy!" She handed one to Flowey who grasped it in a vine, he'd not seen one of these in ages. "This way I can tell you who's coming so you can keep your eyes closed, I think they would give the game away a little too quickly."

He looked up at her, at a loss for further argument. "Do you think of everything?"

"I try to! Hehehe."

So she thinks she's in total control, does she? "And what if I say no?"

She crouched down to his level, the hem of her cloak seemingly forgotten. "Then I would have to question where your spirit of curiosity went. Really... what's the worst that could happen?"

Flowey thought about it. On the one hand Suzy was getting annoying, he never liked being coerced into things, least of all pranks... but on the other he could not deny his own curiosity. What would be the point in saying no without participating at least once? If it was the principle, he could easily reload and wipe all memory of it from her head. It wasn't like it was an either/or situation anymore, he had the power to do both. Huh, time travel really changed the way you make decisions...

He was no-ones puppet, but the thought of participating for his own reasons filled him with determination. "Alright, i'll do it."

In the wishing room Flowey took a spot slightly behind and to the side of one of the echo flowers, and Suzy got to work smearing the luminous paint over his petals. The sensation was cold, tingly and completely new. It felt nothing like that other time he'd got himself covered in paint... heh. The colour didn't match up exactly with the echo flowers, but it was close enough; the glow slightly hurt his eyes, so he was grateful to keep them closed. Finally, he positioned the walkie-talkie behind his head, making sure to to keep it well hidden. Everything was ready.

"I'll be waiting just outside." Suzy said. He nodded as her splashing footsteps moved away then shivered, remembering how long he'd been standing in stale water. There was a crackle of static from behind. "From now on, walkie-talkie communication only. Over."

He constricted the vine, the clicking of plastic and short burst of static signaled that he'd found the talk button. "Gotcha. Over."

Many minutes passed, it was hard to tell how many, 10 maybe 20? Flowey was getting bored and starting to regret agreeing when the walkie-talkie crackled on once more. "Seahorse monster comin' your way. Good luck, and keep the channel open!"

Flowey gave an imperceptible nod and held down the talk button. His time to shine. Sounds of sloshing water announced the monster's arrival into the wishing room, the ripples pushed against his stem and almost knocked him off balance.

The monster spoke in a singsong voice. "Echo Flowers on the ground."

Which the nearby flowers repeated. ~ "Echo Flowers on the ground." ~

Ah, a showboater, here to perform to his captive audience. This one should be fun to take down a peg or two.

"Who is the strongest..."

~ "Who is the strongest..." ~

"... Handsomest..."

~ "... Handsomest..." ~

"... Most charismatic monster around?"

~ "... Most charismatic monster around?" ~

The monster paused before projecting dramatically. "Aaron!"

And a whole cluster of flowers responded.

~ "Aaron!" ~

~ "Aaron!" ~

~ "Aaron!" ~

 _Hee hee hee_

"Mettaton."

That was the correct answer according to Papyrus, though Flowey would never understand the appeal.

There was a loud splash. "Who's there?!"

~"Who's there."~ Echoed a flower.

Aaron's voice wobbled. "Wosh... is that you? Come out and stop playing this silly trick on me."

~ "Wosh... is that you? Come out and stop playing this silly trick on me." ~ Spoke another.

He started muttering something under his breath but Flowey couldn't hear it. eventually Aaron took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.

"There is no one here."

~"There is no one here."~

"No one here."

~"No one here."~

"No one here but us flowers."

~"No one here but us flowers."~

 _Hee hee hee_

"Yes no one here but- what?"

"I said." Said Flowey, struggling to hold back a smile. "There is no one here but us flowers." The sloshing sounds got louder and water pushed even harder against his stem. He could practically feel Aaron's breath on him. "But golly, you sure do like to talk up the bravado about yourself, don't cha? Maybe some of the other flowers would like to hear it instead." He opened his eyes and met the confused and twitching gaze of the seahorse. He couldn't restrain his smile any longer. "BOO!"

Before another word could be uttered Aaron bolted, plowing through the water and out the exit. His final look of pure shock and terror had etched in Flowey's mind and he couldn't stop laughing. Suzy turned on her end of the link to do the same. They stifled themselves again when muffled conversation echoed in from the nearby corridor.

"What is it this time? Did Shyren leave her backing track playing again?"

"ONE OF THE FLOWERS TALKED TO ME!"

"Of course it did, they're echo flowers!"

"NO! This one was different! IT HAD A FACE!"

"... A face?"

"Wosh... do you think it might be haunted?"

"... Why are you winking so much?"

"THESE ARE WINKS OF FEAR!"

"... Right. Okay then, show me this haunted flower."

"It's right through there!"

"Yuck, this room is filthy... Aaron? Where did you? ... Fine, I'll handle this on my own, then."

Flowey closed his eyes tightly and listened for the soft splashes indicating the new monster entering the room.

It wandered around muttering and speaking something into each flower. There were a lot of clinking noises, Flowey wondered what it must look like but before he could sneak a peak it'd come around to him.

Woshua stood in silence, a rhythmic mechanical cranking and scent of detergent being the only indicators to give its presence away. He could feel its gaze boring into him.

Eventually it spoke. "Wosh u face!"

A downpour of magical liquid hit Flowey's face with unexpected and painful force. He blinked his eyes open and gasped as the little green and blue water-bucket monster nodded its head smugly in front of him.

"Pranks are not clean fun. Wosh u act..." Flowey squinted as rivulets of paint-saturated water ran over him, exposing the natural colour underneath. Woshua's smug grin slipped. "What are you?"

He wondered if the prank was over now... but the setup was too perfect. He could get in some last minute fun before they finished up. "Howdy, i'm Flowey. Flowey the flower!" He pulled a vine out from under the sodden mud and extended it to Woshua invitingly. "It's nice to meet you."

The little monster flinched back in disgust. "Filthy."

 _Hee hee hee_

"Aww, don't be like that." Flowey stuck out his tongue and winked playfully. "I'm only trying to be friendly! Your other friend left in such a hurry that I never even got to say hello." He exaggerated a pout. Woshua didn't respond, he watched the vine as though it were a venomous snake about to strike at any moment. Flowey had to hold himself back from laughing as he continued. "Oh where are my manners, you don't have hands, do you? But that's okay, I don't have any hands, either! So we'll just have to shake something else..." He reached out for Woshua's hand-crank 'tail'.

Several drops of muddy water dripped onto the monster as it shakily backed away in wide-eyed horror. "YUCK. NO. TOO DIRTY!... GO AWAY!"

Flowey started giggling, he couldn't stop giggling. Eventually Woshua found its footing and scurried away to the same exit Aaron had taken. He laughed, but this time Suzy didn't join him.

Static crackled from the walkie-talkie which had thankfully avoided a soaking. "Don't you think that might have been a little mean?"

Flowey quickly snapped his mouth shut, suddenly confused. "What do you mean?"

"It's just, what you said sounded a bit..."

It hadn't even occurred to him that he might have gone too far. Usually he'd feel bad by that point. "Sorry. I guess I got a little carried away."

There was the crackled sound of a sigh from the other side. "It's fine, it happens... though, I think it's time to call it a day. We should get that paint washed off."

Though most of the paint had already come away, Suzy insisted on cleaning up properly, and not with any of that stagnant swamp water. Flowey found the sentiment odd, but decided to let her have her way; So far it seemed to result in interesting situations happening. He suggested they ask Unydne but the small channel of luminous water separating the quiet area from the main cavern was too wide for Suzy to cross, so they took the trail past Shyren's pool instead.

Into the everlasting rain.

Sheltered from the downpour beneath Suzy's rough cloak, they walked past the weathered old statue, and past the bucket of- no. Suzy stopped by the bucked of umbrellas and took one out.

"What's that for?" Flowey asked, watching her shadowed face with an eyebrow raised. "You don't need an umbrella."

Suzy didn't answer right away, she turned around and headed back to the statue, placing the umbrella down by its weathered feet. "Now the statue doesn't have to get wet anymore."

Flowey looked at it, then back at her, then shook his head. He didn't really understand, but maybe that was just because he'd not had any sentimental value for the statue in life.

There was a soft clinking sound from within the weathered base, then a gentle tune started to play. A hidden music box, the music was so sweet and... innocent? That was such an odd description to apply to music, but somehow, it was what came to mind.

Like a sad nostalgia. "Let's keep going. Please."

They walked into the rain, Flowey stared down at the puddles while unwanted memories flitted in and out of his mind. The sound of the music box becoming quieter and quieter until they stopped moving. "Wow."

He lifted his head, then his jaw dropped. Before them stretched a vast open cavern, dark and glittering with crystalline stars. Situated on the other side of the vista was the castle, his old home. So magical and majestic, as though frozen forever in a timeless dream. How could he have forgotten this place? He'd been here many times before, the path had changed somewhat, but the layout was always the same.

Suzy lowered herself and sat down cross-legged on her cloak. Flowey snaked out and planted his roots into the dirt beside her. The rain poured down over his petals, but he didn't mind. Maybe If the rain cleared away enough paint, she would stop insisting on going to Undyne's house. Not that he had anything against Undyne, he just didn't see the point.

This spot had always been special. Back when Asriel's future responsibilities still loomed ahead of him, stepping back and seeing the underground like this felt like a weight temporarily lifting from his shoulders. Heh... in some ways, Flowey supposed that he should take comfort from the fact that no one expected anything from him anymore... but with the lifting of one burden came the acquisition of others.

He'd never come here alone. Only ever with his best friend beside him. The one person in the whole world who he could trust, who would listen and would never, EVER let him give in.

But now he had Suzy, and she was staring across the expanse in silence. "Suzy." He said in a quiet voice, as though speaking loudly would cause the stars to fall from the ceiling. "Why do you sneak out?"

She didn't make a move to look at him. "Because I don't like the Capitol when it's busy, and because it's fun."

"Are those the only reasons?"

He could understand wanting to get away from that crowded city but this was a new excuse, there was nowhere to go from New Home but into Hotland. As for fun, he could understand it if it were only from time to time, but he got the impression she didn't just sneak out once a fortnight. No one did that just for the fun of it.

"My mom is a bit... restrictive, so being at home isn't very fun. " She caste him a sideways glance. "Why do you ask?"

He stared at his reflection in the puddles on the ground. "You remind me of someone."

"That other partner of yours?"

"Please stop calling them that." He bit back his frustration. The memories weren't going to go away... might as well talk. "Their name was Chara. They were more than a friend to me, but... they're gone now."

"Oh." She said softly. "I'm sorry."

"No. I'm sorry." He hissed between clenched teeth. He wasn't angry at her, but he may have sounded that way, it was getting hard to tell. "I..." There wasn't any point in lying right now was there? He could erase her memories... he would probably need to, eventually. "It was my fault." His voice was so small as to be almost imperceptible, and no sooner had the words passed his lips than he regretted them.

So desperate to confide in someone... anyone... that he'd gone and substituted Suzy for his own best friend. _Idiot, such an idiot!_ There have been too many mistakes. He'd let this play out then reload.

Suzy leaned in closer to him. "How could it be your fault?"

"I refused to fight back." He said flatly.

"You.. wait, that doesn't make any sense." She pulled back her head and gasped. "Are you saying that someone KILLED them? Who would do such a terrible thing?! I've never heard of any monster doing something so... so."

Flowey sighed and watched her haggardly. "I don't want to go over the whole story. Besides, it happened a long time ago now..." He turned to look down the path they'd just taken, the music box was still playing its gentle tune.

For several seconds the melody of the music box and pattering of raindrops made up the only sounds in the vast cavern. Finally, Suzy spoke up. "I guess in a way that makes us alike." She said softly, shifting to gaze across the vista once more. "We both lost someone important to us..." There was another long pause before she spoke again."Flowey." She said. "As you confided in me, I guess it's only fair that I do the same for you." Flowey didn't say anything, but caste her a sidelong glance that she probably didn't see. "When I said that I never knew my dad, that wasn't strictly true... even though, technically, it is." Well, this was starting to sound interesting. "Sometimes, when I close my eyes I can see him, just for a moment then he's gone. Mom says i'm remembering him from when I was a baby but that just doesn't feel right... the memories feel too fresh, like from days or weeks ago... and it's not just me! I catch her talking to him sometimes, but she can't even tell me what he looks like, she just makes stuff up... I can tell when she's lying." She shook her head and laughed humorlessly. "Weird, huh?"

Flowey wasn't sure what to make of that, but it was nice to be distracted from his own memories. "That is pretty weird." Suzy's father used to work at the Core right? That big mysterious structure with no known inventor which just appeared out of nowhere. "How did he disappear?"

"I don't know. My mom lied about that, too." She sighed, then turned around and lifted her hood slightly, revealing a strained smile. "I'm not going to remember any of this, am I?"

Flowey went rigid, he looked into her face but had nothing to say.

"There you are Suzy!"

They both spun around, a blue monster with a clam-shaped head was jogging down the path towards them. The top half of her shell clicked against the bottom with each step, making her voice muffled.

"Pearl!" Suzy jumped to her feet and ran to the monster, embracing her in a hug. "This is my friend Flowey." She gestured towards him.

He attempted to put on a smile. "Howdy."

Pearl regarded him; she did not appear confused or hesitate like other monsters, she simply smiled warmly as she went on. "It's nice to meet you Flowey, it seems fate has brought you two together. Did you both have fun playing today?"

"Yeah!" Suzy bounced excitedly in the monster's arms.

Pearl put on a mock stern expression. "You haven't been getting into trouble... have you?"

"Hee hee, nope." Suzy hugged her even tighter. "Thank you for covering for me."

"It was no problem sweetheart, you deserve to get out of the city every now and again, but now you have to come back." Suzy nodded broadly. "Say goodbye to your friend."

She walked back to Flowey and knelt down so that her face was close to his, that same strained smile plastered over her shadowy face. "I wouldn't blame you, you know, if you chose to turn everything back. We both said things that we regretted..." She glanced away. "Pearl once told me that it's these mistakes that make us stronger in the end... I don't know if she's right, but hey, it's not my call! It doesn't matter to me whatever you do..." Her words trailed off, after a moment she got up and started walking away, turning her head back to call one last thing over her shoulder. "Thank's for listening to me by the way. May our paths cross again, my Flower Prince!"


	16. Gathering in the Snow

_"You just took their word for that, your going to trust them?"_

 _"Of course... why wouldn't I?"_

 _"What if they try to take advantage of you?"_

 _"Hee hee hee, you worry too much! Why would anyone want to do that?"_

 _"Oh my sweet, naive little brother. Some day you will find out and when that day comes... I can say I told you so!"_

* * *

Papyrus' morning training session - which Flowey watched, for moral support, of course - finished up early the following day so that he and Undyne could join the Royal Guard dogs in a game of frisbee. Apparently the dogs had been talking excitedly about their plans in Grillbys the previous night, and, being the small, close-knit community that Snowdin Town was, many of the residents had decided to make an event out of it.

"PLEASE WAIT HERE, THIS WILL ONLY TAKE A MOMENT."

Undyne opened her mouth to speak but Papyrus had already shut the door. She frowned, hugged herself against the cold, then looked down at Flowey and straightened up. He smiled innocently, he hadn't spoken much, so perhaps she'd forgotten that he was there. As much as her reaction was funny, it was also a little annoying. They should have gotten over the initial confusion by now but she still hadn't stopped being low-key suspicious of him. He tried to think of something to say to put her at ease but was interrupted when muffled shouting sounded from the house.

They strained to listen, but the voice - which was most definitely Papyrus - was too incoherent to make out. It got louder and intermittent with stomping. The door swung wide open...

"it's six thirty in the morning... and it's sunday..." ... And Sans stepped out.

"IF IT'S TOO EARLY FOR YOU THEN WHY DIDN'T YOU SAY SOMETHING TO THEM AT THE TIME? BESIDES, YOU WERE THE ONE WHO TOLD ME ABOUT THIS CONGREGATION IN THE FIRST PLACE!" Followed closely by Papyrus, who was holding a large stack of frozen pasta under one arm, and a microwave under the other.

"they're dogs pap, they like * _yawn_ * mornings."

"YOU HAVE HAD SUFFICIENT ENOUGH SLEEP ALREADY. GETTING OUT WITH THE COMMUNITY WILL DO YOU SOME GOOD."

"i do that anyway..." He swayed on his feet, eyes half closed and looking ready to fall over.

"GRILLBYS DOES NOT COUNT! NOW COME ON, YOU CAN HELP ME SET UP."

Papyrus marched ahead purposefully but Sans barely seemed to notice. He raised a single sleepy eyelid to regard Undyne and leaned against one of the posts beside the door. "heya..." She didn't look impressed. "go on ahead, i'll catch up... i just need a few minutes." He closed one eye fully. Undyne gave him the sort of glare that would make any sensible monster snap to attention immediately, but Sans just shrugged. "i promise."

Undyne looked about ready to murder the skeleton, but took a deep breath and marched after Papyrus instead. Well, that was interresting...

Flowey dug down and popped up slightly ahead of her. "Hey, uh, what was that about?"

"What was what about?" Undyne said without slowing her stride.

"That thing with Sans." Flowey submerged and popped up infront again. "Why did he make you so mad?"

"I'm not mad." She said. "Sans isn't required to come."

"But..." Flowey began as Undyne passed.

She stopped and spun around glaring. "How about it's non of your darn business?!" Welp...

Without saying another word, she turned on her heel and marched the remainder of the walk down the high-street, entered the woods and disappeared among the trees.

So much for that...

Flowey entered into a well-kept clearing, nestled just behind the main residential area. It seemed to function as the town's park, the place was barely hidden by a line of pine trees sheltering it from the harshest of Snowdin's weather. Any sludge had been cleared away recently and the surface replaced by fresh snow fallen in the night.

On one side of the clearing two bunny monsters and a large wolf were busy setting up tables with cloths and baskets; no doubt ready to be filled with all manor of delicious treats. What a shame he wouldn't get to enjoy them. On the other side, Undyne leaned up against what looked like Sans' sentry station and right next to it, Sans and Papyrus were busy tipping the frozen pasta onto plates... wait, what? How the heck did Sans get here so fast?!

 _It's Sans, what did you expect?_

He was going to offer to help, but it looked like they were handling it well enough on their own. He looked over at the bunnies and wolf instead...

Huh... besides Papyrus, Sans, that now defunct timeline with the drakes and that brief run-in with Gyftrot, he hadn't really spoken to anyone in Snowdin. This event could be a good opportunity to get some useful information.

"Howdy." Flowey said cheerily popping up beside one of the bunnies. "Do you need any help?"

"Hello." The bunny said while setting down the basket she was holding. She turned to him and confusion traced across her face. "Oh... you're a friend of that skeletons, right? It's kind of you to offer, but i'm not sure how you can help..." She looked uncomfortable, it was the 'no arms' thing, wasn't it?

"Yep that's me. My name's Flowey." He extended a vine to the monster. "It's nice to meet you."

"Oh." She seemed taken aback, but overcame her surprise and gripped the vine in a light approximation to a handshake. "Belle." She said, then gestured to the other bunny "And this is my sister, Freda. I run the store and she runs the inn in town." Freda smiled and waved to Flowey, then went back to her task. "And that there's Ice Wolf." Belle gestured to the wolf monster who was currently holding a table above its head as though it were nothing. "The poor fella doesn't get out much. All day, every day throwing ice into the river... heaven knows why but apparently it's important, so I don't question it."

"Howdy." Flowey waved. Ice Wolf set down its table with a grunt and gave him a puzzled look.

Belle leaned in close to his head. "I heard he wants to change his name to 'Jimmy Hotpants'." She whispered. He stared at her, a warm and mildly amused smile plastered across her face. "Anyway, if it isn't too hard for you, you could help me arrange some of these baskets?"

Flowey nodded and grabbed the nearest basket without hesitation, but quickly realized he was too short to properly see over the table. After a few fumbled attempts he managed to set it down the correct way up and somewhat straight, but Belle's expression didn't fill him with confidence. He sighed in frustration and looked out across the clearing. The skeletons had finished setting up their table, complete with microwave, which he wasn't sure how they planned to power.

"Do you know anything about Sans?" He asked, looking up at the bunny who was fine-tuning the arrangement.

"He's a nice enough guy, I guess. Funny and pretty popular with the regulars at Grillbys." She stepped away from the table to admire her work. "Ever been to Grillbys?" Flowey shook his head. "It's not really my cup of tea, but different strokes for different folks I guess. So long as it keeps people's spirits up, i'm happy." He looked out across the clearing again, Belle walked around to stand beside him. "Those two do a pretty good job of that, actually." She continued. "Ever since they appeared the town has gotten a whole lot more interesting."

Flowey frowned. "How long have they been living here?"

Belle shrugged. "A couple of months. They just showed up one day and... asserted themselves." A cacophony of barking erupted from the treeline. "Looks like the cavalry is about to arrive."

"Ice Wolf needs to leave now." The wolf monster said suddenly, it's shadow looming over Flowey.

"Aww, you can't stay for just one game?" Belle pouted.

Ice Wolf shook its head. "Sorry, maybe next time..."

"Well thank you for helping out." She gave it a sincere smile. "You're a real star."

Ice Wolf nodded gratefully, then trundled away into the trees just as the dogs broke into the clearing. They looked about and wagged their tails excitedly, their mouths leaden with frisbees, sticks and balls.

"I need to collect some supplies from the store, be back in two shakes of a rabbit's tail." She called across the table, then left at a brisk jog.

Flowey looked over the clearing again. Undyne and Papyrus had come away from their table and were now playing fetch with the dogs, while Sans sat at his station... snoozing.

Heh.

Over the course of the next hour many more monsters came to join in the gathering. Some came to watch while most took it as an excuse to catch up on gossip. A few teenagers congregated around the edges to chat among themselves; he spotted Chilly and Snowy in one group and three similar but differently colored monsters in another. The rabbit sisters set out an assortment of freshly baked sweets and frozen snacks for the children, many of whom seemed to lack arms; one particularly clumsy kid did little else but run around in circles and gawk at Undyne. Sans didn't get involved, instead he handed out 'hotdogs' to whoever wanted one. No one tried Papyrus' pasta.

Flowey joined in the games a couple of times. It was kinda fun, but he wasn't used to dodging the wild magic of overexcited dogs. No one else could understand why he was making such a fuss about keeping distance. After all, wild magic doesn't hurt monsters...

Dog magic was one thing, Undyne was another. He'd witnessed her aggressive style from a distance and up close while sparing with Papyrus... but to have that turned on HIM, well... lets just say 'that was fun!' She put a lot of force into her throws. A lot. A PAINFUL amount, why would anyone need to throw a frisbee that hard!? How was that even possible?!

"Are you alright?" Flowey knew that Undyne was approaching him, but he didn't pay it much attention. He watched instead the treetops and high cavern ceiling spin in a sickening blur, then her face appeared above him. "Do you need some help?"

The sound of more crunching footsteps indicated she wasn't the only one, he closed his eyes. "I'm fine... just... give me a minute." Not even a second later he felt a cold scaly hand close around his stem and pluck him from the ground. "Hey!"

"That's enough fun for you, punk." He felt nauseous in Undyne's grip but didn't fight back.

She put him down in the snow beside Sans' stall. He didn't replant himself right away, just a couple more seconds for this headache to ease off a bit...

"IS HE OK?" Flowey cringed against the loud voice. _Ouch Papyrus..._

"I'm fine."

"He's fine." They both said in tandem. "He just needs to stay off the field for a while."

"I'm fine." Flowey repeated through gritted teeth. He planted his roots into the permafrost and straightened up as best he could, discovering a new and uncomfortable kink in his stem.

"Hey, if you want to go out there and hurt yourself more that's fine by me. Just don't act like I didn't warn you!"

Flowey shot Undyne a glare which she returned at full force. Eventually Papyrus interrupted what had quickly become a staring contest. "PERHAPS SOME SPAGHETTI WILL HELP? I'LL WARM UP A PLATE FOR YOU!"

Papyrus' words cut apart the tension like a knife. Flowey sighed and watched him take a frozen plate of spaghetti from the table and put it into the microwave. Beside him, Undyne audibly shivered.

"Papyrus, do you have any... warmer clothes I could borrow?"

Papyrus stared expectantly into the unplugged microwave. "HMM, WELL I DO HAVE A COAT HANGING UP IN-"

"Thanks, i'll be right back!" She interjected, not waiting for him to finish before bounded away.

Flowey ducked underground and quickly dug after her. He wasn't done with her yet, and he couldn't have Papyrus interrupt. She was a stubborn sort and it was getting annoying, but most of all, right now, he hated what she'd implied.

By the time he'd caught up with her Undyne had already entered the brothers' house. He waited and not half a minute later the door opened and she stepped out wearing a long red raincoat. The fabric looked too thin to offer much insulation.

"I'm not weak." Flowey stated flatly.

Undyne looked at him with an eyebrow raised. "Is this about me taking you off the field?" She knelt down to his level, and smiled almost mockingly. "Listen, I've been watching you out there. Some monsters just can't take the hits, and you're one of those sorts. Accept it."

He narrowed his eyes, he didn't like her condescending tone. He may be a kid, but this wasn't because he was a kid, was it? No, it was because he was a flower. "No. I am not weak."

Undyne gave a dismissive shrug and started walking away. "Whatever buttercup."

"DON'T CALL ME THAT!" Rage like he'd never remembered feeling before suddenly and irrationally erupted inside him. Before he knew what he'd done a bullet was sent hurtling towards Undyne.

She spun around and blocked the projectile effortlessly with a spear. "Do you wanna go punk? Have something to prove?!"

More emotion than sense, Flowey was filled with determination. That quiet little voice telling him how dumb this was, silenced by the overwhelming desire to prove a point. "Yes, actually!"

Undyne spun her spear in her hands looking unimpressed. "Alright then."

She sent a slow volley towards him which he blocked easily with a vine. He summoned a set of five bullets and flicked them towards her in response which she also blocked with ease. It felt like the whole world had gone dark and monochrome, like Undyne and Flowey were the only two beings around. The only ones who mattered.

Flowey squinted, trying to look his opponent over for weaknesses. Undyne smiled. "If you're trying to check me, don't bother. I'm going easy on you." She sent more spears his way, he blocked four and ducked underground to dodge a fifth. "Papyrus told me about the training he's giving you." She ducked under a wave of bullets. "He mentioned your grounding and asked me what it meant." A much larger wave of spears appeared, Flowey tried his best to block but ended up having to hide underground to avoid most of them, Undyne smirked. "Do you know what other kind of monster has a grounding formation like yours?" He summoned a larger wave of bullets and attempted to form a more elaborate attack pattern. Undyne blocked a few while the rest missed. "Whimsuns." Flowey lowered his vines.

Whimsuns... really? Those meek monsters who flitted about the Ruins and New Home? He hadn't had much interaction with them, but from what he'd seen they always came off as shy and easily upset. A spear hit it's mark, slicing a tear right through his stem. In an instant all other projectiles dissipated, and the spell of battle was broken.

"Had enough?" Flowey curled up against the sap welling at his wound. Undyne approached him, hands on hips and looking particularly smug. "I admire your spirit, you know. I used to be a lot like that when I was younger." She sat down and looked him over skeptically. He hid the tear in a coil and smiled in defiance of the pain. He could get something to heal it later. "I'll take back some of what I said... with enough determination, you can achieve anything you put your mind to! Some Whimsuns even went on to be warriors." She rubbed the back of her head and smiled awkwardly. "Well... almost anything. You can't change what makes a monster who they are, you know? It's hard-coded into the SOUL... you can put a Whimsun in armor, but it's still a Whimsun on the inside..." There was a long pause, Undyne sighed and looked out in the direction of the clearing where voices and barking could still be heard through the trees. "Hey uh.. please don't tell Papyrus this, but... i'm not sure if I can ever let him into the Royal guard. It's not that he's weak, he's actually pretty freaking tough! AND he's an excellent student! But... he's just so innocent and nice! If I sent him into battle the way he is now... he'd get ripped into little smiling shreds..." She got up slowly, turned back to him and smiled widely, showing off her pointy teeth as she added one last thing. "Oh, and i'm serious. If you tell any of this to Papyrus I WILL beat you up!... AGAIN!"

Flowey and Undyne made their way back together. He was grateful for the numbing effects of the cold for once, and tried to push away any concern for whatever adverse effects it might have on plant injuries. He barely noticed when cheering erupted from the clearing, then came the shouting.

"UNDYNE! FLOWEY!" Before they'd even reached the trees, Papyrus rushed out and almost collided with Undyne head on. "INCREDIBLE NEWS!" He bounced around giddily from foot to foot.

"Well spit it out then!" Undyne spat in a mixture of irritation and excited impatience.

"DOGAMY JUST PROPOSED TO DOGARESSA! THEY'RE GOING TO GET MARRIED!"

"Oh my god! Oh my god!" The two monsters grabbed each others shoulders and started jumping up and down.

Flowey put on a smile and tried to pretend to care. "Golly, that's great news!"

Thankfully, Undyne and Papyrus were too busy celebrating between themselves to scrutinize him. "DO YOU THINK THEY'LL NEED A BEST MAN? DO YOU THINK I COULD BE BEST MAN? MAYBE THEY'LL WANT SOME SPAGHETTI TO SERVE AT THE RECEPTION?"

"Oh my god Papyrus!" Undyne stopped his rambling with a rough shake. "Where are they?! I need to congratulate them!" She didn't wait for an answer before charging into the clearing, Papyrus happily skipping along behind her.

In the darkest, coldest depths of the Underground, an entire town had come together. Young and old alike gathered to celebrate that which made monsters, monsters. To share love, compassion and hope in an otherwise bleak world. Seeing them all right now, gathering around the two dogs and offering their congratulations, the joy beaming from everyone's faces... Flowey had never felt so isolated. It was ironic, hard to describe. It reminded him of his time with his father, trying to feel love again... heh.

Asgore would have loved this, he really would...


	17. Ghosts

Hindsight is 20/20, or so his mother had once said. Flowey never really understood the expression, not until now anyway... picking a fight with Undyne, what had he been THINKING?! Either that knock to the head had been harder than he'd thought, or there was a lot of pent-up anger somewhere... regardless of why he'd done it, he'd been an idiot. Thankfully Sans hadn't been watching... he'd considered reloading but some good did come of it; Undyne was much more open with him now. So in a way, perhaps it _was_ the right thing to do?

Over the week following the gathering Flowey learned a lot about the town from its residents. For example, he'd learned that Snowdin didn't have a mayor. Most of the town's decision making was either spontaneous or communally agreed and whenever there was trouble, Undyne would step in to straighten it out. He'd also learnt more about the teens who tormented Gyftrot. A group of Icecap triplets made up the troublemakers of the gang, always trying to one up and stand out from each other in both schemes and fashion sense. With or without their involvement however, the deer monster had been attacked again, and there were rumors floating around that Snowdrake and his father had had another falling out at about the same time.

Papyrus ended up feeling so bad about the whole situation that he'd gathered together some locals to bring a tree into town, and decorate it the same way he'd seen in some of Sans' old human magazines. They put gifts underneath for everyone; Snowdrake, Gyftrot... there'd even been one for Flowey... a bone, from Papyrus. Thanks Papyrus. Unfortunately the deer monster didn't come into town often so someone needed to take its presents to it personally. It was the thought that counted, he supposed.

Oh Papyrus... so 'innocent and nice'. Undyne's words kept coming back to him and if there was one thing she was right about, it's that being nice gets you killed. The more training sessions he attended, the more he was losing faith in this plan... but the possibility was still worth hanging onto. He may just be approaching this the wrong way...

Flowey stared at the closed doors to Undyne's house and yawned; The two monsters had been in there much longer than usual. He didn't follow them in houses anymore, he didn't go inside anywhere on his own out of respect for peoples floor tiles. It was annoying and inconvenient, but not usually a big deal.

He looked out into the quiet area beyond Undyne's little nook. The thought occurred that despite spending all that time getting to know about Snowdin, he hadn't bothered to talk to the residents here besides minor interactions. Hmm... perhaps he was tunnel visioning himself by trying to focus on one person at a time? Getting to know everyone could make this a whole lot easier. Kinda like a puzzle, to solve it you needed all of the pieces... it would probably have been quicker too, come to think of it...

Oh well, if there was ever a next time he'd keep that in mind! A small yellow bird flew into the cavern and set down on the still pool of water, a moment later a second, smaller bird joined it. They chirped merrily and splashed water over each others backs, then they spotted Flowey. They stared across at him silent and unblinking... well, this was suddenly awkward. He smiled and raised a vine to give a friendly wave, but they fled the moment he lifted it from the ground. Great start...

Next door were a couple of bulbous and top-heavy houses, one in blue and the other an orange-brown. Light shone pink through the brown house's single front window so Flowey tried knocking on the door, but there was no response. Looks like no one was home. Another cave joined onto this one, inside a wooden fence formed some sort of enclosure. That feeling of familiarity was nagging at Flowey's mind again, he surfaced inside to get a better look. Huh, the pen was full of snails.

"hello... welcome to the blook family farm..."

Flowey almost jumped.

"oh... i'm sorry... i didn't mean to scare you..." A ghost floated beside him, their eyes wobbled as though teary.

"It's okay. I wasn't scared." Flowey wondered if he should make some reassuring gesture, but wasn't sure what. Besides, the ghost didn't even have hands...

Hang on a second... he knew this ghost! This was the same ghost that visited the ruins back when he'd, uh... been in a very bad place. He'd recognized it then too, and now, next to the snails he remembered why. He'd come here a in life. Not often, only once or twice with his mother while on shopping errands to collect snails. They were her favorite.

"are you here to buy snails...?"

He shook his head. "No, sorry. I'm... uh, new here and just wanted to see if anyone was around. It's nice to meet you...?"

"oh..." The ghost looked about awkwardly. "i saw you by the farm and thought you might..." They trailed off. "well, i guess i could invite you to join me in my house... if you wanted to, that is. I don't start work properly for another hour anyway... but it's fine if you don't want to come."

They faded and were gone before Flowey could make a response. He smiled to himself and headed back to the cave with the two deformed houses, this was a much better start! He stood in front of the second house and tried to knock but the door creaked open at his touch.

The space inside was small and rundown, the floorboards old and filled with gaps. In one corner the ghost - who was now wearing a set of headphones - seemed to be working on something at a computer, which looked just as old and beaten up as everything else here.

Flowey surfaced in a gap between two loose floorboards, then cleared his throat loudly.

"oh... i didn't think you would actually come." The ghost looked a little embarrassed. "well, make yourself at home, i was just... checking something on the internet..."

The internet? Papyrus had mentioned being popular on there a couple of times, though Flowey never paid much notice. Hmm, come to think of it, Chara used to mention the internet from time to time as something humans used on the surface. Though monsters had managed to get a few human computers functioning during his lifetime, they never had an 'internet' of their own back then.

"Can I see?" He asked eagerly. "I've never been on the internet before."

The ghost looked apprehensive, but floated out of the way. "it's not very interesting..." Flowey craned to get a closer look, the screen displayed a page split into several rows of text, each beside a little icon and name. "it's just a forum i like to share my music on sometimes..."

Oh this was interesting! "You make your own music? Can I hear some?"

"oh... sure." The ghost hovered back to the computer and opened a new window. A moment later a chilling, spooky ambiance filled the room. "do you like it?"

It wasn't to Flowey's taste, but he could think of _someone_ who might enjoy it... _hee hee hee._ "It's great. Very... spooky."

"oh gee, thank you... i have a few other cds lying around. you can put them on if you want to..." He looked around at the CD cases scattered across the floor. As tempting an offer as that was, he decided not to take it. "are you hungry?" The ghost floated to a fridge in the corner of the room and pulled out two transparent sandwiches.

They presented one to Flowey. _May as well._.. he thought and reached out with a vine which passed right through.

 _Oh._

The ghost took the sandwich away. "oh... maybe you need to leave your body to eat that... or have you already fused with it?"

Flowey frowned. "What?" That didn't make any sense...

"i never took a body so i didn't know... sorry."

Wait a minute... did they think...? "I'm not a ghost!" He snapped as a surge of indignation washed over him. He may have died, and he may now be stuck with an inanimate object as a body but... wait, was he a ghost?!

"oh... i'm sorry..."

An icy shiver ran through his stem, he shook it off. "It's okay." Monster ghosts probably didn't work like that anyway... he decided to change the subject. "Who runs the farm with you?"

The ghost turned away and put both sandwiches back in the fridge. "no one anymore, i'm the only employee..." They floated back to the computer. "my cousins used to, but they all took corporeal forms and moved away... i can't really blame them..."

"Oh... I guess this place doesn't get much business anymore, huh?"

"was it that easy to tell? we used to, but our main customer disappeared one day..."

Flowey had a feeling he knew who that was. Sooner or later he should try to get his mother out of the ruins. For now though, gathering information was more important. "Does anyone live next door?"

"not anymore..." A single, tiny tear escaped the ghost's eyes and they turned away again. They stared at their computer monitor for a moment, then switched it off and placed their headphones on the desk. "a show i like is about to start... would you... like to watch it with me?"

The last time Flowey had seen anything on a TV he'd been a different person. Like the internet, monsters back then didn't have television stations of their own and mostly watched human video tapes and monster-made home movies. He'd especially enjoyed human cartoons.

"Sure."

The ghost approached a battered old TV on the ground and twisted a dial, the picture flicked on with a hiss of static.

"-BEAUTIES AND GENTLEBEAUTIES, I HOPE YOU ALL HAD A WONDERFUL NIGHT! NOW IT IS TIME TO GET UP, AWAKE AND READY FOR ANOTHER GLORIOUS DAY WITH ME, YOUR HOST, METTATON!"

The picture wasn't very clear flickered intermittently between color and black and white. Mettaton was lounging on a comfy-looking coach opposite another monster who appeared considerably less relaxed. A large empty table covered much of the foreground while a mural of the New Home skyline hung on the wall behind. Flowey was vaguely aware of the ghost moving to sit beside him.

"I AM JOINED BY MY WONDERFUL GUEST, HOTS FLAMESGUY!"

"It's actually-"

"WHY DON'T YOU EXPLAIN FOR ALL THE MONSTERS AT HOME WHAT IT IS THAT YOU DO?"

There was a pause while the picture zoomed in on the little fire monster who's expression was hard to make out. "I maintain the elevators in Hotland. It's actually a-"

"FABULOUS! SO, FIRES, HOW IMPORTANT IS THIS INFRASTRUCTURE TO MONSTERKIND?"

"Well, without it we wouldn't be able to travel in Hotland at all. You see, we use a system of high-energy electromagnets that..."

Flowey yawned, he looked over at the ghost who was watching the screen transfixed, a little smile had formed across their face.

"FASCINATING, TRULY FASCINATING! SO WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF, FOR EXAMPLE, THE POWER WERE TO BE CUT WHILE SOMEONE WAS TRAVELING THROUGH THESE PIPES?"

"Uh... the magnets would fail and the cabin would be sent plummeting down the shaft, along with anyone inside..."

"HOW DRAMATIC! I'LL BE SURE TO LOOK INTO THESE FOR MY UPCOMING SHOW-"

"I really wouldn't advise using the elevator system like tha-"

"IT HAS BEEN A PLEASURE HAVING YOU ON THE SHOW TODAY! EVERYONE IN THE STUDIO AUDIENCE, PLEASE, GIVE A BIG HAND FOR MAGMA HOTSMAN!"

The picture zoomed in on the fire monster again who's eyes were now darting uncertainly between Mettaton and the camera, then it cut to a close up of Mettaton who was clapping mechanically.

"NOW IT IS THAT TIME IN THE SHOW WHEN WE ASK YOU ALL TO PREPARE YOUR FRYING PANS! THAT'S RIGHT, IT'S TIME FOR THE MORNING RECIPE! TODAY WE-"

A thunderous boom cut off the sound of the TV which filled with static as the old house shook, dislodging a storm of dust from the rafters. It sounded like it came from next door... oh no. He'd completely forgotten about Papyrus and Undyne!

Flowey rushed outside just in time to see glass flying everywhere as Papyrus lept through Undyne's front window and landing with surprising grace. Undyne followed soon after, her leap morphing into a roll which collided with Papyrus and sent them both collapsing into a heap. One big, hysterically laughing heap.

"What happened?!" What the heck had they been DOING in there? He'd not even been gone for all that long!... And he'd also forgotten to put down a SAVE point. Dammit!

"I heard an explosion, are you okay Undyne?!" Flowey turned, Gerson was running up from behind, though it looked like he was struggling. He reached the cave entrance and bent over panting. "These old bones aren't what they used to be..."

"We're fine don't worry!" Undyne got up and brushed off some dirt, her face was covered in something red and lumpy. "We just had an accident in the kitchen."

Gerson looked the house up and down, dark smoke was bellowing from the broken window. "Mighty big 'accident' there..."

"WE COOKED SPAGHETTI!" Papyrus sprang to his feet to stand beside Undyne. "BUT IT MIGHT BE A LITTLE OVERDONE..."

She smiled awkwardly and patted him on the back. "Maybe just a bit..."

Papyrus glanced over his shoulder. "YOUR HOUSE IS ON FIRE."

"That was completely reckless of you!" Gerson glared with one eye and put his hands on his hips, then strangely seemed to relax. "But also really impressive... I don't know why I expected anything else." He looked defeated.

Flowey was at a loss for words. On one hand he was annoyed they'd left him outside to wait without telling him they'd changed their plans. While on the other he was completely bewildered as to how anyone could blow up their kitchen while cooking spaghetti...

"hello? sorry to bother you... i just came to see if everyone was ok?... i'll leave if you want me to..." The ghost appeared beside him, partially obscured by the mouth of the cave.

"Everyone is fine, don't worry." Gerson turned to the ghost, but his eye stopped on Flowey. It hovered on him for a long time. "Hello...?"

Why did these meetings always have to be so awkward? "Howdy."

Thankfully Undyne seemed to notice. "He's a friend of ours." She said reassuringly.

"Oh..." Gerson turned away. "Well if he's with you then he can help in cleaning up this MESS!" He snapped and took another look at the scene before shaking his head. "I'm going to fetch Woshua."

He turned around and hobbled out of the cave, and out of sight. A silence fell, Papyrus, Undyne and Flowey busied themselves with picking up broken glass and after some shy awkwardness, the ghost joined too.

Flowey grabbed a few stray shards of glass in tendrils and dropped them in a steadily growing pile. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Hmm?" Undyne didn't look up from where she was kneeling.

He stopped what he was doing. "That you changed your plan. You left me waiting outside."

"Oh that." She smiled, looking a little embarrassed. "It was kind of a spontaneous thing..."

Papyrus approached with a handful of glass, oblivious to the many shards spilling from his gloves."WE WERE TALKING ABOUT SPAGHETTI, THEN UNDYE HAD THE BRILLIANT IDEA OF GIVING ME A COOKING LESSON!"

"Yeah and it was KICK-ASS!" She punched him in the shoulder, sending most of his handful flying. "... Up until the oven exploded."

He dropped off the remains with a guilty frown. "SORRY UNDYNE."

She shook her head and patted him on the shoulder again, lighter this time. "Hey it's not your fault, that old thing needed replacing anyway! I'll get a better oven for next time."

He looked at her and smiled, he clearly felt some guilt for the damage but he didn't express it. Flowey watched them in silence, did this mean that Undyne had given up on warrior training for Papyrus? Or were these cooking lessons just something extra? He shook his head, only time would tell... and learning to cook properly would probably do Papyrus some good...

"i need to leave now..." Everyone turned to face the voice. Flowey had forgotten the ghost was still here.

Undyne waved and smiled warmly. "Thanks for helping out!"

Papyrus did the same. "THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP!"

"Thanks-" Flowey cut himself off. He just realized that he didn't know their name. It was something-blook, wasn't it? Spookyblook? Rapsterblook?... No, that wasn't it. Suddenly he really wished that he'd paid more attention in the past...

The ghost dropped several glass shards onto the pile and started fading away. "goodbye."

Then they were gone.

Flowey sighed with frustration. Well, it was too late to ask right now, he'd have to wait till later. Chara would have remembered...


	18. Lets Have a Party!

"Nothing on this shelf either..." Flowey squirmed, trying to get comfortable in the tiny dirt-filled jar that smelt vaguely of pasta sauce. "Maybe someone checked it out?"

Papyrus gave him a strange look. "A BOOK CANNOT DISAPPEAR SIMPLY BECAUSE SOMEONE LOOKED AT IT."

"That's not what I..." Flowey shook his head, if Papyrus didn't understand what he meant then there wasn't any point in trying to explain.

He shuffled carefully to the next bookcase with a pair of roots and began reading the titles along the bottom shelf. Ever since the incident with Undyne's house she'd been staying with the skeleton brothers in Snowdin. Despite the circumstances, Papyrus had been so excited to have her over that he'd even invited Flowey along so they could all have one big sleepover. It had been... a fun few days, but today was the day that Undyne would be going back home and the whole event seemed to have left Papyrus with inspiration.

"Is this the one?" He said pointing to a book with the words 'Party Costumes for Dummies' written on the spine.

Papyrus shook his head. "NO, THAT'S NOT IT..."

Flowey sighed and kept looking... '73 uses for Snails, a sequel.', 'Monster History part 6', 'A Beginners Guide to Puzzles'... this color-coded sorting system really wasn't helpful, but naturally Papyrus loved it.

Flowey shook his head and shuffled to the next shelf. He'd about given up on helping Papyrus get into the Royal Guard, he stuck with the skeleton now for his own reasons... mostly for the entertainment. He could see what Belle had meant - Papyrus' optimism and enthusiasm could get contagious at times.

And yet... beyond Undyne and Flowey, Papyrus didn't seem to have any friends. Perhaps this was why he came up with the idea of having a costume party in the first place?

"I FOUND IT!" Papyrus called while hugging a book to his chest with 'Ice-E's Guide to Cool Costume Parties' written across the cover. "NYEH HEH HEH! COME ON FLOWEY!"

He grabbed Flowey's jar and bounded out the library without so much as a glance to the monster on the front desk. It was snowing outside but the weather didn't seem to dampen his mood as he jogged back to his cosy wooden house.

"did you find that thing you were lookin' for, bro?" Asked Sans casually from his spot on the couch while Papyrus shut the door behind him.

The space inside was a decent size with a couple of tables, a coach, a TV and a separate kitchen. Even though the brothers didn't have skin, they kept the place pleasantly warm.

Papyrus could barely contain his smile. "WE SURE DID!"

"that's great." Sans propped himself up on one arm to better look at his brother. "so... are you gonna tell me what you're planning yet?" Papyrus shoved the book into Sans' view, hopping from foot to foot in excitement. Sans' expression didn't change. "oh, cool. so then what are you dressing up as?"

Papyrus' smile only grew broader. "NYEH HEH HEH! I'LL GIVE YOU A CLUE!" He posed chivalrously, holding Flowey out in one hand like a sword and the book in the other as a shield.

Sans brought a finger to his chin thoughtfully. "hmm, so your going as the flower?"

Flowey scoffed, Papyrus faltered. "SANS DON'T BE RIDICULOUS!"

If it were possible for Sans to stop smiling, Flowey imagined that he would still be grinning right now. "you're so easy to wind up, you really shouldn't have let your _guard_ down."

"MAYBE YOU'RE-" Papyrus conceded, then cut himself. "WAIT, WAS THAT A PUN?" He asked suspiciously.

"... maybe." Sans tapped his fingers together and looked to the side mischievously.

Papyrus watched him for a moment, then shook his head. "WE WILL BE IN MY ROOM."

"ok."

He charged up the stairs, leaping several steps at a time and reached the door at the top covered in labels reading 'NO GIRLS ALLOWED!', 'NO BOYS ALLOWED!' and 'PAPYRUS ALLOWED'. He pushed the door open and hurried to a table set beside his race-car bed, pushing aside an assortment of figurines so he could place the book down and Flowey's jar beside it. The room was meticulously neat.

Flowey took a moment to steady himself after the rough transit - he REALLY didn't like this stupid jar! The only reason he was in it in the first place was because he didn't know how long he could survive without soil. That would have been an embarrassing reload...

"HMM, LET'S SEE..." Papyrus opened up the book and began flicking through the pages. "ACCORDING TO THIS BOOK, WE MUST FIRST MAKE A LIST OF GUESTS! THEN WE NEED TO... THAT'S ODD, IT MENTIONS 'PARTY GAMES' BUT NOTHING ABOUT PARTY PUZZLES..." He double-checked the page then flicked ahead. "WE CAN GET TO THAT PART LATER! NEXT..." He flicked through some more pages and stabbed his finger onto one. "AHA, THE LEGENDARY PARTY SPAGHETTI!"

He rushed over to a box in the corner and rummaged through it, spilling bones and some weird skull thing onto the ground before coming out with a clean piece of paper and a pencil in the shape of a bone. He carefully placed the bones back into the box before returning to the table.

"What's with all the bones?" Flowey asked while Papyrus inspected the tip of his pencil.

"WHAT BETTER WAY TO PROTECT YOUR SUPPLIES THAN WITH YOUR OWN ATTACKS?" Papyrus answered while jotting down the recipe in his rough, bold handwriting. "UNFORTUNATELY IT DOESN'T DETER ONE PARTICULARLY PERNICIOUS PEST." He put the pencil down and sighed. "THAT MANGY MUTT HAS TAKEN A PARTICULAR LIKING TO MY BONES... I DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW IT KEEPS GETTING IN!" Papyrus went back to flicking through the book.

A dog, huh? That would go a way to explaining some of the stranger sightings and disappearances Flowey had witnessed during his time at the house. He watched Papyrus flick through the book and his eyes glanced back to the piece of paper.

"Aren't you gonna write your guest list?"

"NO, I WANT TO MAKE SURE EVERYTHING IS FULLY PLANNED OUT FIRST. AFTER ALL YOU CAN'T SPELL 'PREPARED' WITHOUT SEVERAL LETTERS FROM MY NAME!" Papyrus said without looking up. "HERE IT IS, HOW TO MAKE COSTUMES! HMM..." He frowned as his eyes traced over the pages and eventually his smile fell. "NON OF THESE LOOK LIKE THE COSTUME I WANT..."

Flowey edged closer and began examining the page himself. All of the costumes were meant for children to craft and wear; mostly cardboard masks of robots, owls and kitty cats with a mix of stockings and painted cardboard boxes for the body pieces. They weren't all that impressive, Flowey had seen Papyrus make more impressive things than this... even if his sentry station was made of cardboard.

"We can do better than any of those." He reassured, smiling up at Papyrus. "Draw what you want to make, i'm sure Sans will help us find whatever we need."

Papyrus looked into Flowey's eyes. Something all too familiar burned in those eye sockets which made Flowey's smile drop, but he didn't feel as frustrated as he used to. He'd gotten used to it.

The skeleton didn't seem to notice, he smiled extra for the both of them. "YOU'RE RIGHT FLOWEY, WE CAN DO BETTER THAN THESE! THESE ARE FOR BABY BONES! NYEH HEH HEH!" He pushed the book roughly to the side, for a moment Flowey thought it would fall off the table. "NOW I SHALL DESIGN A COSTUME ARMOUR WORTHY OF A TRUE FUTURE GUARDSMAN!"

Papyrus immediately got to work drawing out a dimensionaly accurate depiction of himself, then picked up a figurine on the table and put it beside the drawing. It had white and blue armor with yellow trimmings and a red cape. "SANS HELPED ME PAINT THIS ONE, I WANT MY COSTUME TO LOOK LIKE THIS." He went back to his drawing, adding a breastplate, boots, gloves and even the cape. "IT'S MY FAVORITE!"

"hows it going in there?" Flowey turned around, Sans was stood in the doorway with his hands in his jacket pockets.

"WE ARE DOING FANTASTIC SANS!" Papyrus beamed. "DO YOU WANT TO SEE MY DESIGN?"

"sure." Sans walked across to the table and looked over Papyrus' shoulder, his face, as usual, was difficult to read. "lookin' good. do you need any help making that?"

"WE NEED TO FIND SOME MATERIALS, BUT I'M SURE I CAN PUT THEM TOGETHER MYSELF JUST FINE." Sans backed out the way to give Papyrus more space. "HAVE YOU CONSIDERED WHAT TO WEAR FOR YOUR OWN COSTUME?"

Sans shrugged. "i'll probably come up with something." Papyrus looked skeptical, but didn't say anything. "i was just heading out, wanna tag along?"

Papyrus continued to eye him with skepticism. "YOU MEAN TO GRILLBYS?"

"yup."

"I THINK YOU KNOW THE ANSWER TO THAT QUESTION." He stated flatly.

"well then." Sans leaned up against the table, his pinprick pupils coming to rest, not on his brother, but on Flowey. "maybe your buddy would like to come along instead?"

Flowey opened his mouth but no words came out. This was the first time Sans had really offered him anything besides advice... which always felt more like veiled threats than anything else. Beyond those isolated incidents, the skeleton had always been content to ignore him, or at least pretend to.

"Sure." he said finally.

"BUT SANS, I NEED HIM TO HELP ME PLAN OUT THIS PARTY!" Papyrus protested, grabbing a hold of the book in both hands as though to use it as evidence.

Despite the childish outburst, Sans remained as calm and unfazed as usual. "don't worry bro, we won't be long." He picked up the jar and started walking back towards the door. "i know a shortcut."

They stepped through the threshold of Papyrus' room... and into a place Flowey had never been before. So THAT was how shortcuts worked?! It was more than a little disorienting, but judging by the pungent scent of grease and dogs which suddenly washed over him, this was Grillbys.

"fast shortcut huh?" Sans said with a twinge of amusement, then turned to the rest of the room. "hey, everyone."

"Hey, Sans."

"Hi, Sans."

"Greetings, Sans."

"Hiya, Sansy~"

Many monsters sat at tables and booths called out to greet him. Flowey knew some of them in passing, but non looked up from their drinks to acknowledge the two as they passed. Sans walked up to the bar where a fire monster was busy cleaning. He pulled himself onto a stool then placed Flowey on the counter. The bartender didn't look happy.

"i know, but can ya make an exception just this once?" Sans answered to the silent disapproval. "i mean look at him, he doesn't even have limbs. He's totally ' _armless_."

Flowey scowled at Sans. That pun was not only terrible, but also made light of his condition. He didn't like to think about it, he didn't like others joking about it. Regardless of how he felt, though, it seemed to placate the bartender who shrugged and went back to cleaning.

"sorry about that bud. needs must, ya know?" Flowey calmed down a bit and took a look around the bar, he could see why Papyrus was not overly fond of this place. "anyway, let's order. whaddya want...?"

He wanted to decline any food but decided that would be rude. He looked for a menu but couldn't find one anywhere, oh well.

"I'll have whatever you have, it's all the same to me." Flowey said finally.

"are ya sure?" He nodded and Sans seemed to study his face. "alright, then." Sans turned to the fire monster again. "grillby, we'll have a double order of burg."

Grillby set down his cloth and walked to door at the back of the room and went outside. Sans became strangely fidgety while he was gone.

"I'm guessing you didn't take me here just for lunch?" Flowey tested. Sans caste him a sideways glance but before either of them could speak again the bartender returned holding two plates with a big, greasy burger on each.

"grub's up." Sans said sounding a little relieved. "want some ketchup?" He rummaged around in his jacket and pulled out a full bottle. Flowey shook his head. "oh well, more for me then." He shrugged.

He flicked off the bottle cap and upending the entire thing into his mouth. Flowey watched with jaw agape. Straight ketchup? Really?! That couldn't taste good...

"anyway..." Sans said, wiping ketchup away from his mouth. "you're right, i didn't ask you here just for lunch. i wanted to tell you something." Flowey straightened up and watched the skeleton intently. "papyrus had been feeling pretty down over the past few months. he puts on a good show, but i can tell when he's really happy and when he's not. what i wanted to say was... that i haven't seen him this genuinely happy in a long time. having you and undyne as such good friends, it really cheered him up. so... thank you. thank you for being there for him when he needed it."

Flowey looked the skeleton up and down. The heartfelt 'thank you' of which had little effect on his non-existent soul felt like it was covering for something else... guilt, perhaps?

"You're telling me this, because you didn't trust me, aren't you?" He said slowly.

Sans let out a long sigh. "what gives you that idea?"

Flowey intensified his gaze. "I know you know my secret."

Sans fidgeted, he picked up his burger and took a bite. "and may i ask, what secret might that be?" He asked lazily between mouthfuls. Was he doing this just to annoy Flowey now?! "heh, relax bud. take a bite of your burg, aren't you hungry...?"

Flowey looked over at his burger and sighed. He extended a couple of roots to grab and hold it together as best he could, but much of the bread and patty crumbled and fell apart as he brought it to his face. The texture was greasy, grease ran down his petals and onto the counter - he felt disgusting.

"not bad, eh?" Flowey shot Sans a look that said otherwise. "what? am i wrong?"

He swallowed his mouthful and put the remainder of the meal back on his plate. He tried a different approach. "Please Sans, stop pretending that you don't know what i'm talking about. You trusted me enough to bring me here, I want to trust you enough to talk about it."

Sans slowly put down his burger and looked at Flowey for what felt like a very long time before he spoke again. "alright."

At that moment the room fell silent and still. Everything went dark, it was as if Flowey and Sans were the only two beings around, sitting together within a solitary spotlight. Like the spell of battle, but not - battles didn't make time stand still.

"yes, i know that you're soulless." He tapped his fingers rhythmically against the counter. "but what i want to know is how you know that i know? y'know?"

Oh, this might not have been such a good idea... "You once told me that you're good at reading people." Flowey paused, then added. "Don't think I didn't notice the way you would look at me."

Sans brought a greasy finger up to his lower jaw. "i don't remember saying that to you... but i guess i musta just forgotten." He shrugged, his eyes darting between Flowey and the remainder of his burger. "so were you going anywhere with this or...?"

"I want to get my soul back."

Sans' white pinprick pupils disappeared for a second. "what has that got to do with me?"

"You know enough about souls to tell when someone doesn't have one. Surely you must have an idea of how they work? How someone might get a lost soul back... or make a new one?"

Sans shook his head. "i'm a comedian. i do stand-up at the hotland resort, i read the faces of the crowd for reactions!" Flowey's metaphorical heart fell. His stem wilted, and he felt his petals wilt along with it. "i'm sorry bud, i wish i could help you, but souls are well beyond my understanding."

Flowey stared down at the counter-top, he didn't move or say anything. Eventually the lights and sounds of the restaurant returned, but he didn't look up. He couldn't think, it was like a gear had jammed in his head and he couldn't comprehend it.

"Is he alright?" Asked a voice to one side.

"he's fine, he just needs to go out for a bit of fresh air." Sans' hand wrapped around the jar and lifted Flowey gently into the air.

He didn't even try to stabilize himself and slumped over the sides as Sans walked him out of Grillbys and back into Papyrus' room. He wasn't even bothered by the shortcut.

"we're back, told ya it wouldn't take long."

"SANS I- IS HE OKAY? YOU DIDN'T FEED HIM ANY OF THAT STUFF THAT MAKES YOU SLEEPY, BUT GIVES YOU A HEADACHE THE NEXT DAY DID YOU?"

"nope, he did this to himself." Sans placed the jar on table. Slowly, Flowey looked up to see Papyrus standing at his computer while Sans backed off towards the door. "he'll be fine in a few minutes, don't worry. just let him be."

"OH... OKAY."

"so, what were you saying?"

"OH RIGHT, YES." Papyrus cleared his throat. "I AM MAKING THE LIST OF PEOPLE TO INVITE TO MY PARTY FROM MY UNDERNET FRIENDS AND FOLLOWERS, AND FROM THEIR FRIENDS AND FOLLOWERS!"

"that's great. how many have you got so far?"

"STRONGFISH91, SNAS... THAT'S IT SO FAR... OH NO WAIT! STRONGFISH JUST ADDED SOMEONE NEW TO HER FRIENDS LIST!" He leaned in close to the screen, the occasionally clicking of the mouse could be heard. "HER USERNAME'S 'ALPHYS'." Flowey's attention pricked up, he raised his head slightly higher at the name's mention. "WOWIE... SHES THE ROYAL SCIENTIST!"


	19. A Strange Village

Flowey looked down at the two figures below. They sat in the mud, chatting happily to each other with their set squares and other measuring equipment abandoned and strewn around in the silt.

"Don't call to her will you?" Gerson brought his head close and whispered. "Last time she spotted me with this stuff." He gestured to the seagrass slung over his shoulder. "She went on some hair-brained rant about 'scientific protection' and confiscated the lot! The nerve!"

Alphys was now talking very passionately about something while patting down on the top of a bucket full of wet sand. She pulled the bucket away carefully, revealing the new sand castle underneath and clapped her hands together excitedly.

"I don't know where she's suddenly getting all these stupid ideas from, but I'm sure as heck not going without my sea tea! OW!" Alphys squealed at the same time that Gerson yelped; Undyne had lept onto her sand castle and completely flattened it. "I forgot how low the roof was here..." He lifted his yellow cap and rubbed his head. "So, was there a reason you came looking for me?"

Flowey's clicked his full attention back to the turtle monster. Oh right, the distraction of the two girls had almost made him forget why he'd come here in the first place. "Yes. Papyrus wants to invite you to his costume party on July the 20th."

"Oh, that's nice of him." Gerson started down the narrow path leading away from the ledge they both stood on. "Was there any reason he couldn't give me the invite himself?"

Flowey lifted an eyebrow. "He's giving out invites in Hotland right now, so i'm doing Waterfall."

"Ah, so it must be quite the guest list then!" Gerson rested a hand on the slimy cave wall.

Flowey put on a smile. "Yeah, he's been working pretty hard on it." He ducked underground and surfaced slightly closer to the old turtle.

Gerson carried on walking down the passageway, then stopped to study some indentations in the walls. "Not many monsters know about this passage ya'know. The last time I can remember seeing anyone go this way, besides myself of course, was when ol' king Fluffybuns addressed the remains of the monster kingdom in that room back there. That was right after our exile..."

Flowey cringed at the nickname, but decided to ignore it. He could see why this path was unused; it was uncomfortably narrow for regular sized monsters, the entrance was hard to find and it came out at a dead end... unless the user was willing to jump down a 15ft cliff. Imagining Asgore climbing his way through here was more than a little amusing, but also pretty hard to believe. He'd never taken Gerson for a liar though.

"I'm surprised you found me here." The turtle monster continued, eyeing him with a big smile. "You should feel privileged! Wahaha!"

Flowey smiled back, for real this time. "I have my ways." He said, looking around at the cliffs on either side. A small spark of curiosity lit up in mind. "Do you know all the secret rooms and passages in Waterfall?"

Gerson let go of the walls and put his hands in his pockets with a small shrug. "All? Nah, but I know a fair few. That doesn't mean i'll tell you where they are though, I need to keep SOME secrets! Wah heh heh..." He coughed into his hand then pounded his fist against his chest while the coughing fit died down. "So, was that all you came to tell me? Because I really need to get going..."

Flowey's eyes flicked awkwardly. "You haven't told me if you can come yet."

"Oh, right." The turtle monster recovered his composure. "Well... i'll see if I have space in my calendar how's that?... Where abouts is this party taking place anyway? At what time?"

"It's the first house when you enter Snowdin, you can't miss it." Flowey recited politely. "It will be on all afternoon."

"Thanks i'll keep it in mind." Gerson turned to hurry out the narrow passageway, calling back a quick 'good luck' before vanishing behind a corner. For such an old turtle, he could move remarkably quickly.

Flowey watched him go, then let out a long sigh; Waterfall wasn't looking promising. Out of all the monsters he'd asked so far, Shyren was too shy to accept, parties were too 'dirty' for Woshua, Napstablook thought they would just pull everyone down and Aaron was... Aaron.

After Papyrus' attempts to get a list together out of Undernet profiles, they'd quickly realized that it wasn't going to work... they didn't even know who most of these usernames belonged to. In the end, they'd scrapped the whole thing and just gone with an 'invite everyone and hope' approach.

How very Papyrus.

He turned back to the cliff's edge, the two girls had stopped messing about by now. Alphys was busy gathering together her equipment while Undyne admired the fruits of their effort - a bridgeseed puzzle, and a pretty good one at that. Undyne had expressed her distaste for puzzles before, but working alongside Alphys, she seemed to have forgotten all about it.

Seeing the two together brought about some... conflicting emotions. Flowey shook his head of it and turned to gaze at the patch of seagrass overhanging the cliff instead. He shouldn't really be spying on people.

Well he wasn't about to give up yet. So... besides the dozens of identical mold monsters skulking around the place, who had he missed? He wracked his brain and a vague name came up, 'Temmie Village'. He'd definitely seen this place mentioned on a sign somewhere in Waterfall.

Flowey turned back to the girls and was about to ask Undyne about it, but the room had gone quiet - the girls had moved on. Oh well. He ducked underground and attempted to locate Gerson instead, but the signal given off by the seagrass he carried had grown faint. He followed it until it was too low to trace, then surfaced in a dark room, far too dark to even make out the walls; luminous grass underfoot formed several paths but he couldn't tell where any of them led.

There was the sound of movement nearby. "Gerson are you there? I need to ask you something."

"hOI!" A high and shrill voice answered his call, it didn't belong to any monster Flowey remembered encountering before. "FlOwr such a CUTE!" The monster exclaimed and rushed closer.

Flowey jerked back on instinct, he could just about make out its cat-like silhouette. "H-howdy." He said cautiously. "Do you maybe happen to know where Temmie Village is...?"

The monster jumped up and down excitedly "yayA! FoLLOw TEM!" Then ran off before Flowey could say another word. Its footsteps were soft and moving quickly out of audible range, he rushed to follow them before he lost them completely.

They didn't travel far before the footsteps stopped. Flowey surfaced to find the monster waiting in front of him, now in the light he could see that this monster looked to be a mix between both a cat and a dog.

"welcom to... TEM VILLAGE!" It declared, its body shaking as though filled with barely contained excitement.

"Thanks." Flowey gave it a smile and a small nod, then peered past into the room beyond. It appeared to be a pretty standard cave... not very village like...?

"hOI! im temmie!" A second, identical monster came from around the corner to stand beside the first. "and dis is my friend-"

"hOI! im temmie!" Then a third appeared to stand next to the second. "FlOwr such a CUTE!"

They moved in closer, all three began to vibrate intensely. "SO CUTE! tem GON... DIE!"

"D-don't touch me!" Flowey raised a vine defensively, wary of all this sudden attention... but the Temmies just kept moving closer.

He was completely surrounded.

"awawawah! TOO CUTE! Must... pet... FlOwR!" Said the nearest, whose face had somehow now detached from her body and was drifting slowly to the right.

She extended a paw towards him which he batted away with a vine, but then the other two Temmies extended their own.

"Stop it! He protested as their paws reached him and started roughly petting his petals. "I'm not CUTE!" This was just humiliating...

"Hi." A fourth Temmie appeared, there was something... different, about this one. "Would anyone like some Temmie flakes?"

The three immediately turned away from Flowey.

"yAYA!"

"FOOB!"

"GiV FLAKES!"

They rushed to the fourth who set a cereal box down on the ground and began digging through it, fishing out scraps of brightly colored paper and making excited noises as they shoved them into their mouths.

The fourth Temmie approached Flowey. "Hi." It said casually with a pleasant smile. "I'm Bob."

"Hi..." Flowey said warily, his attention drifting across to the Temmies eating only a few feet away.

Bob seemed to understand. "Don't worry, they won't bother you now." He reassured, then sat down and started staring at nothing.

Flowey wasn't convinced, he took a moment to calm himself down and get his mind back on task. Now that he was here, he had to at least TRY to invite someone to Papyrus' party... so, he supposed that he didn't really have much of a choice but to trust Bob anyway...

"Say..." He studied the monster's expression, but there was no indication that he was paying any attention. "Would you, maybe be interested in coming to a costume party?"

Bob didn't respond. Oh well, worth a shot...

Flowey shot a final glance across at the Temmies who'd tried to pet him. They had stopped eating now, and were standing around together looking a whole lot calmer. Thank goodness...

He decided not to waste any more time on them and check out the rest of the 'village' instead. There were several more 'Temmies' scattered around but non paid him any mind. Besides them there wasn't really all that much here... on one wall a painting hung depicting a Temmie riding some sort of dragon monster, beside another stood a statue with 'TEM' written across the base and there were a couple of signs advertising a 'Tem shop' either side a small side cave.

Flowey approached a Temmie at the far end of the room who seemed to be strongly focused on a painted egg for some reason.

"Howdy." He said, trying to look confident despite how doubtful he felt.

The monster practically exploded with excitement! "tem... WATCH EGG! eg... wil HATCH! tem... PROUD PARENT!"

Flowey backed his stem away... this whole thing was feeling like a bad idea...

"Greetings."

That was not the voice of a Temmie; he spun around to face the source. A blue mushroom he'd previously thought inanimate was looking him up and down, it's expression hard to read with its eyes shaded beneath its cap. He felt a small surge of relief to find a different kind of monster here.

"How-"

"To others we might appear as kin." The mushroom interrupted him. "But you and I, we aren't alike, are we?"

The relief quickly vanished, confusion filling its place. "What do you mean?"

The monster brought itself to its full height. "How is it that you may roam freely, unburdened by the shackles of your roots while I am trapped here forever by my hyphae?"

"Oh..." Flowey felt his hope dashed once again, just another monster it would be pointless in asking...

He looked around at Temmie Village again and bit his lip. Ugh, this whole stupid little errand had been a complete failure. He should just leave the village... and then leave Waterfall.

The mushroom narrowed it's eyes and leaned in closer. "It's not just that though, is it...?" It continued. "There is darkness behind your eyes..."

A small shiver ran down Flowey's stem which mingled with his frustration. Really? More judgement on his soullessness? Had this been another time, or another person, he might have seen some potential, but not here... not now...

The mushroom pulled its head back and lowered its cap to cover its eyes. "You are not welcome here."

"Don't worry, i'm not coming back." He crooned scathingly and ducked underground.

He dug away in no particular direction, anger and frustration boiling at the pit of his stem. Pointless, pointless! Wait... why WAS he so angry? He had a right to be irritated sure, but was this really rational? Maybe... maybe he'd gotten a little too invested in this little task. He stopped for a moment. Why? Why hadn't this thought occurred sooner? All he ever thought about was fulfilling goals he set himself, but when those goals turned out not to be achievable... huh. He never used to get this easily upset when a plan didn't go how it should, so why now? Why did this matter so much to him, when it really shouldn't matter at all?!

He pulled himself above ground and found a nearby pool. He gazed into its dark, calm waters at the other Flowey who gazed back. This wasn't a new thing either, this had been going on for a while and he'd not even thought about it, not once. He didn't understand, he'd thought himself rational, tempered, small things never used to bother him that much.

 _I don't understand, what's wrong with me?_

A second figure appeared to join his reflection. He recognized her, though they had only met briefly before.

"Hello Flowey, I didn't expect to find you here. I suppose fate has a funny way of bringing people together, doesn't it?"

"Yeah, I guess." He said without looking up.

The clam monster lowered herself into a cross-legged sitting position and stared up at the false stars above.

"This is my favorite meditation spot, are you here to mediate too?"

"No." He shook his head and watched her reflection in the dark water. "I was actually here to help out a friend... but it didn't go to plan."

"Well i'm sure this friend of yours appreciates the effort, even if things didn't turn out as you hoped they would."

The thought of what Papyrus would feel had never even crossed his mind. Whatever the skeleton thought, it didn't really matter to him, he just did this because it was 'the right thing' to do... and because it was 'something' to do.

"Yeah..." He said, cracking a smile and watching it spread across his reflection's face. It never mattered at all, this was silly.

"Oh." Pearl suddenly jolted from her serenity. "Suzy wanted me to tell you something."

Flowey's attention perked up and he turned to watch her intently. He'd all but forgotten about Suzy, having not seen her for several week. The expression on the clam monster's face told him that this wasn't a lighthearted message she carried.

Pearl took a moment before speaking. "She seems to have grown fond of you. You showed her kindness when most monsters stay away... even if that might have just been because you didn't know about her family circumstances. Either way... she appreciated having a friend for a little while."

Flowey narrowed his eyes, 'family circumstances'? He remembered the things she'd told him about her mother and felt another small shiver run thought his body. "She told me a little..." He said then shook it off. "Did something happen to her?"

Pearl took in a breath of air and let it out slowly. "Well, I think it's only right that I clarify things for you. Suzy's mother... suffers from a sickness of the mind. Most of the time it isn't noticeable, she carries on day to day just as well as you or I would, but at any moment she can change and become like a completely different person. Without the support of her father, Suzy is left to care for her mother mostly on her own." She paused, the corners of her mouth crept into a small smile but the sadness in her eyes betrayed her feelings. "Suzy wanted me to tell you that she might not be able to see you again for a long time... and hopes that you would understand."

Pearl held eye contact for a moment longer then returned to her meditation. Flowey watched her take in a few shaking breaths before returning to normal, then looked away. He was supposed to feel something, wasn't he? Of course he was... yet more pointless sentimentality. He was starting to wonder why he even bothered...


	20. Party Time!

_It's a party, so just have fun!_

Flowey turned the cardboard mask over and over in his vines. The line-work and coloring was rather crude, and the eye-holes roughly cut out, but he'd made it all by himself so he took pride in that. The mask depicted a character he once used to role-play as, which seemed fitting, as this was a day for pretending, right?

"FLOWEY, BEHOLD THE MAJESTY OF MY NEW 'BATTLE BODY'!" Papyrus appeared from his closet clad in a set of white and blue costume armour, complete with a red cape and yellow trim. He propped his leg onto his bed and flexed his bony arms dramatically. "DO YOU LIKE IT?"

Watching from his pot on Papyrus' bedside table, Flowey smiled and pulled his mask over his face. "I know not this 'Flowey' of which you speak, for I am the God of Hyperdeath!" He proclaimed, curling his vines into an exaggerated evil pose. He let them fall loose and pulled the mask back down again. "Hee hee hee. It looks great, just like I said it would!"

"NYE HEH HEH! OF COURSE IT'S GREAT, YOU HELPED ME MAKE IT! TOGETHER WE ARE GREAT MY VERY COOLEST FRIEND!" Papyrus brought his leg down from the bed and looked excitedly at the door."THE GUESTS SHOULD BE ARRIVING SOON, COME ON, LET'S MAKE A GOOD FIRST IMPRESSION!"

He grabbed Flowey's pot and charged out the room and onto the landing. The living room below had been set up meticulously with balloons, food and puzzles. Papyrus had even placed a few spikes around and although they made the place LOOK like a deathtrap, they weren't in any positions likely to harm anyone; it was all just part of the aesthetic.

"sup bro, everything set?" Sans, who still donning his dirty old hoodie greeted Papyrus lazily from the coach as he descended the stairs.

Papyrus, as usual, was not impressed. "SANS, OUR GUESTS ARE GOING TO ARRIVE AT ANY MOMENT! PLEASE MAKE YOURSELF PRESENTABLE!" He passed Sans without a second glance and placed Flowey down on the table beside the door. The table was laden with party food, mostly spaghetti but also a few choice items picked out by Sans; hot dogs, burgers... unhealthy, but at least there were edible to other monsters.

Papyrus hopped from foot to foot and peeked eagerly out the window. It was a Saturday, so a few monsters were out and about but non seemed to be heading for the house.

"I'LL GO OVER EVERYTHING ONE MORE TIME." Papyrus announced after a minute of nothing.

"ok." Sans responded. He'd not even made an attempt to budge.

Flowey watched him and Papyrus's movements out the corner of his eye; It was funny how such close brothers could be total opposites. After a few moments Sans lifted himself from the coach, climbed the stairs and disappear into his room. Flowey had sometimes wondered what the skeleton had up there to generate all the strange light spilling out from under the door, but Sans had never invited him inside. When Flowey had asked Sans about it, he'd just redirected him with a pun; that part of his personality was really starting to tick Flowey off.

Knock, knock, knock.

"THE GUESTS HAVE ARRIVED!" Papyrus flew past him so quickly his petals fluttered in the draft. "GET READY!" He instructed, then put his hand on the door handle.

The door swung open, and the familiar toothy grin of Undyne greeted them in the doorway. "Heya Paps! I'm here for the PARTY!" She was wearing a shiny black long coat, her hair was spiked and slick with gel and holstered on her back looked to be a massively over-sized sword.

"U-undyne i-i'm not sure about this anymore..." A quiet voice spoke from just out of view.

"Come here, it'll be fine!" Undyne soothed her companion before turning back to Papyrus. She looked slightly uncomfortable now. "I mean WE'RE here for the party, I'm Alphys' plus one. I'll be honest... I was a little surprised you didn't give me an invite."

Papyrus frowned. "YOU NEVER GOT ONE? FLOWEY SAID HE'D ASKED EVERYONE IN-"

"I thought you'd already invited Undyne!" Flowey interrupted. Really? In all the times he'd hung out with her he never once mentioned his party?!

"F-Flowey...?" Alphys appeared from around the door frame and peered nervously inside. She was dressed up in a cutsie pink dress and a set of fake pink cat-ears. The moment she locked eyes with him her skin flushed pale. "H-hello. Undyne told me about you, but I n-never thought we would actually meet in person."

"Howdy..." Her eyes remained fixed on his, and he watched her intently. Eventually she turned away to flash another pleading glance to Undyne who responded with a reassuring smile.

This was going to be difficult... possibly the only monster in the entire underground who could help him now, and she was a complete shivering wreck around him! The conflict in his mind was only going to make this more awkward; she was definitely hiding something.

"PLEASE COME INSIDE, I'VE SET OUT AN ARRAY OF PUZZLES, PASTA AND OTHER PARTY-BASED PASS-TIMES FOR YOU TO PERUSE!... NOT THAT THIS WILL BE TIME YOU'LL BE WANTING TO PASS!"

"I was starting to think you'd never ask!" Undyne grabbed Alphy's arm and practically dragged her through the door and into the house. She stopped in the middle of the room and looked around. "Is it only the four of us?"

"Yo. It's Papyrus... right?" An armless kid in a suite of cardboard armour with a blue-painted stick taped onto one side and a patch covering one eye stood in the doorway. "I got an invite for a party and..." They trailed off as they spotted Undyne.

"YES, PLEASE COME INSIDE, I'LL GO PUT ON SOME MUSIC!" Papyrus hurried to a CD player sat in one corner and turned it on, filling the room with energetic music.

"YEAH MUSIC! Let's DANCE!" Undyne punched the air to the rhythm.

Alphys grabbed the ends of her coat and tugged at it gently, drawing her attention downwards. "Uh, U-Undyne, i'd really rather not..." The smaller monster looked even smaller than usual.

Undyne let her posture slack and she rubbed the back of her head awkwardly. "Oh... that's okay Alph, dancing's for dorks anyway. What do you wanna do?"

"W-well I..." Alphys looked frantically around the room before stopping on an object at the far end of the table. "P-Papyrus, where did you get one of these from?" She picked up a cube made from multicolored tiles and held it out to the skeleton.

"THAT'S ONE OF SANS' PUZZLES. I THOUGHT IT MIGHT BE TOO EASY, BUT HE INSISTED THAT I USE IT! ALL YOU NEED TO DO IS TURN EACH SIDE THE SAME COLOR."

"I-I know..."

Undyne raised an eyebrow. "You find this easy?"

"OF COURSE! HERE, LET ME SHOW YOU!" He tore the cube out of Alphys' hands and began pulling off the colored stickers and replacing them onto different sides.

"Papyrus... that's not how that works!" Undyne laughed and attempted to snatch the cube away from him.

Papyrus pulled it out of her reach. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN? THIS IS A PERFECTLY VALID STRATEGY FOR SOLVING THIS PUZZLE!"

"Yo."

Flowey almost jumped, the armless kid was standing right beside him; he'd not even noticed them approach. "Howdy."

They leaned against the table. "I thought there would be other kids here to talk to..." They grumbled, staring across at a plate of unpleasant-smelling spaghetti.

Old memories of being dragged along to grown-up gatherings by his parents briefly flicked through Flowey's mind. It was a lifetime ago, but he understood how boring it could get. "You can talk to me."

They didn't seem very convinced, they looked across to the others who were now fighting over something on the other side of the room... well two of them were. "Yo... You hang out with her right?" They indicated towards Undyne. "... What's it like?"

Flowey thought over all the times he'd spent with her and Papyrus, one particular word came aptly to mind. "Fun."

"Wow really?!" They suddenly lit up with excitement.

Flowey rolled his eyes. "Why don't you go over there and talk to her yourself?"

The kid practically fell over themself. "What? No, I can't do that! She'll think i'm a total loser!"

"Suite yourself~" He singsonged, watching the kid's miniature freak-out with mild amusement from the corner of his eye; the mere THOUGHT of approaching their idol was sending them marching in circles.

After a couple of seconds they calmed down again. "Can I see you're mask?"

Flowey had almost forgotten he still had his mask around his stem. "Sure." He pulled it back over his face.

"Cool, did you make it yourself? I tried making my costume on my own but..."

"Hello, may we come in?" A small group of monsters stood at the door, all Snowdin locals, some young and some old.

"COME INSIDE!"

"Hey everyone!"

"Yo... Sis! You told me you weren't coming!"

Papyrus, Undyne and the kid hurried to greet the newcomers inside, Alphys cowered in one corner and Flowey just watched. This party was turning out to be more popular than he'd anticipated... the crowding was starting to make him feel uncomfortable.

 _Don't be silly it'll be fine, parties are fun!_... Or at least they used to be fun back when he had his best friend with him.

He cringed against the thought and bit his lip, this wasn't the best of times to be thinking like that...

"Hey everyone!"

"Are we on time?! Like, PLEASE tell me we're on time."

Two more monsters, both wearing heavy makeup appeared at the doorway. One resembled a cat and wore a long costume snout while the other resembled an alligator and wore cat ears, similar to the ones Alphys had but purple.

"If we aren't it's totally your fault." Accused the gater.

The cat spun on her indignantly. "How is it my f- ALPHYS! Oh my god I've missed you girl!"

"WE'VE missed you girl!"

Alphys, who was still standing in one corner snapped around to face the two girls as they rushed towards her. "H-hey... Bratty, C-Catty, long time no see."

"Hey Alph, can you get us Mettatons autograph?!" Asked Catty.

"Why do you never talk to us anymore?" Asked Bratty somberly.

Alphys fidgeted and started to sweat. "I-I've been busy... excuse me."

She pushed past the girls and ambled towards Undyne who was lifting a bunch of kids on her arm. She said something in a voice too low for Flowey to make out, but her posture and expression pretty much said it all... hmm. The thought occurred that, with the party so full and everyone distracted with one thing or another, perhaps now would be a good time to try and talk to her? Or maybe not, that could just make the situation worse...

Pfft, like the risk ever mattered? There was only one way to find out! The thought of finding a way to get his soul back filled Flowey with determination.

SAVE point set.

"Hey, Alphys?" He called across the crowd, she immediately turned to face him. "Can you come over here? I want to talk to you."

She looked around, but no one offered her any way out. "I-I... okay..." She stammered and hesitantly picked her way around the other monsters. She placed her hands on the table softly. "Y-you wanted to talk to me?"

"You're the Royal Scientist, right?"

She couldn't even hold eye contact. "Y-yes..."

He wasn't sure how much he could get from her while she was like this, he probably shouldn't be too direct... "Cool, I bet there's a lot of fun sciency stuff you get to do! Can you tell me about some?"

"Well I-I..."

"She built a robot!" Bratty and Catty appeared from either side of Alphys, causing her to cower reflexively. Great...

"Yeah, didn't you know? She built Mettaton!"

"He's like, totally my robot husband..."

"Actually he's, like, MY robot husband! he just doesn't know it yet."

Bratty leaned in close and whispered loudly. "She built him just to impress Asgore."

"That's not true!" Alphys retorted, her face flushing with red.

The gater monster giggled watching her old friend turn scarlet. "Don't deny it! You always thought Asgore was a SUPER cutie!" Flowey held himself back from gagging.

"Yeah, a robot with a SOUL... that's wicked impressive!"

Flowey's full attention jumped to the cat monster. "Wait, what did you just say?"

"HELLO BEAUTIES! IS EVERYONE HAVING A GOOD TIME?" Geez, now, really?! "BECAUSE YOUR TIME IS ABOUT TO GET EVEN BETTER!"

It was as if that robot timed his entrance to intentionally be at the least convenient moment that he could... or to maximum impact. Flowey wouldn't put it past him to eavesdrop for the sake of dramatic effect...

"OH MY GOD!"

"METTATON! SIGN MY EVERYTHING!"

The two girls along with half the monsters in the room began crowding around Mettaton. Alphys took a step back, still looking a little embarrassed while Undyne simply shook her head.

Papyrus' jaw, on the other hand, was nearly hitting the floor. "METTATON, I AM YOUR BIGGEST FAN! IT'S SUCH AN HONOR TO HAVE YOU HERE AT MY PARTY!"

The robot rolled over to Papyrus, took his hand and held it up to his screen. "And what a party it is!" He dropped the hand and turned back to the crowd, arms wide. "IT'S SO FANTASTIC TO BE AMONG ALL MY ADORING FANS!"

Flowey watched with amusement and mild disdain, he would never understand what people saw in that robot...

"Pfft, can you believe this guy?" Undyne scooted in and rested her elbow across the table.

"Oh my, who do we have here?" Mettaton was approaching them now.

Undyne sneered. "I'm not interested in joining your fanclub."

But Mettaton simply waved her off. "Not you darling, the one in the pot!"

Flowey blinked. "W- me?"

"Yes darling you. What is your name?"

"Flowey." ... Where was Mettaton was going with this?

"Flowey the flower, how very... descriptive." The robot pinched Flowey's mask between his thumb and forefinger and pulled it down his face, then brought his hand up to his screen thoughtfully. "Yes... you have just the face i'm looking for!"

Flowey scowled, no matter how big a star Mettaton was, he didn't like being treated this way. "... For what?"

"Why, to be the co-host of my newest show of course!"

The scowl eased off a bit. "What sort of show?" He asked tentatively.

Appearing on one of Mettaton's shows could turn out to be fun... and seeing as Mettaton was created by Alphys, it could also be a good opportunity to get closer to her. Yes, this sounded like a good plan... what was the harm in trying?

"ATTENTION ALL PARTYGOERS!" Papyrus stood in the kitchen entrance with his arms held behind his back. Everyone turned to face him. "ACCORDING TO THE VERY USEFUL GUIDEBOOK I HAVE BEEN FOLLOWING, EVERY PARTY REQUIRES THE SLICING AND SHARING OF A CAKE! AS SUCH I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS HAVE PROCURED ONE OF THESE STRANGE CULINARY CONCOCTIONS FOR EVERYONE'S EATING PLEASURE!" He held out a large cake covered in white icing, it was already sliced into several segments with a decorative bone placed delicately on each.

Flowey briefly wondered where Papyrus had gotten such a nice looking confectionery; he highly doubted that the skeleton could have baked it himself, but the decorations looked like something Papyrus would have added.

The skeleton leaned down to offer slices to each of the kids, then an odd banging sound drew Flowey's attention away - the door beneath the brothers' oversized sink was moving.

Bang... bang... Clatter, SMASH!

The door flew open and a small white dog dived out in the wake of an avalanche of bones! It bounded towards Papyrus who pulled the cake away just in time, but sent his cape swinging into the dog's path instead.

"YOU PESKY- AHHH!" The dog grabbed a hold of the cape and charged for the open door. "SANS! HELP!" Papyrus cried, arms flailing. The cake splattered across the carpet as the dog pulled him to the ground and proceeded to drag him out of the house. "SANS! UNDYNE...!"

Several monsters rushed to help. Flowey did all he could to keep himself from bursting out laughing... but failed. "Pfff... He he hehehahaha!"

A gentle rapping of fingers against wood announced that Mettaton was still waiting beside him. The robot took a look outside where Papyrus had left a zigzagging trail in the snow. Flowey attempted to stem is laughter as Mettaton turned back to him.

"I'll give you the details after the party." He said. "I highly recommend that you consider my offer." With one final tap, he left the table and wheeled outside to join the others in the snow.

"welp, guess i better go help him."

Flowey spun around, Sans was stood behind him wearing a paper dinner plate strapped over his face. He'd pretty much disappeared for the entirety of the party. "How long have you been standing there?"

Sans shrugged, "a few minutes, give or take." He put his hands in his pockets and began trudging after Mettaton.

Flowey watched him go, unsure how the skeleton was even able to see out of that weird and lazy costume... what was it supposed to be anyway? "Wait... what are you dressed as?"

"me?" Sans stopped and turned around. He pulled up the paper plate to reveal a layer of bread underneath. "i'm a _sans_ wich."


	21. Rehearsal

"Why do you insist on burrowing around in the dirt everywhere you go? You'll ruin your complexion, and we can't have that for our grand debut now, can we?"

Flowey rolled his eyes, the first elevator was right behind him and all he wanted was to get up to the resort and out of the Hotland heat. While the robot didn't change his pace, Flowey's other traveling partner was hurrying towards him with that stupid old plant pot in his hands.

"YOU SHOULD LISTEN TO METTATON..." Papyrus - who was still wearing the remains of his party costume - panted while kneeling down to present the pot to Flowey. "HE KNOWS EVERYTHING THERE IS TO KNOW ABOUT SHOW BUSINESS AND BEING A STAR!"

Mettaton stopped behind the skeleton and placed a hand on his shoulder. "You're friend is wise, you should listen to him."

Papyrus' eyes lit up with such starstruck delight that it was almost comical. "THANK YOU METTATON!"

"No problem darling~" The robot answered absently while removing his hand from the skeleton's shoulder.

Flowey stared at the pot and grumbled under his breath, then sighed and climbed inside. He hated his body and its lack of limbs, so having one of the few ways he COULD get around restricted was something he always tried to avoid. There were times when he tolerated it of course, but the very moment he could get out of the pot or jar he was in he would be gone... in this instance however, he begrudgingly had to admit that Mettaton had a point. Hotland and plants did not get along.

"See darling? Much better. I'm not sure how you expected to use the elevator like that anyway."

Flowey didn't bother explaining that he could have latched onto the underside of the car; he dug his roots into the moist soil and waited for Papyrus to stand back up so they could all move on. An elevator ride and short walk later, the three reached the plateau of cool air outside the resort... huh, that the note was still there, or maybe it was a new one?

"Welcome to the MTT resort, Hotland's premier hotel!" Mettaton announced, clapping his hands together in front of the glass double-doors.

Papyrus gazed up at the glitzy golden sign above him. "WOWIE! I'VE NEVER BEEN TO A FANCY HOTEL BEFORE!"

"Then you both must be dying to take a look around." Mettaton gestured at a small angular monster who grabbed the door handle and held it open for them. "Come inside. I'll give you the exclusive, VIP tour."

Papyrus followed eagerly, glancing around at everything as they entered the red and gold tiled lobby.

Mettaton rolled across to the fast food place and held his arms out wide. "This is the MTT burger emporium, where we serve fast food at high prices! That's how you know it's star quality. Or, if you're more inclined towards finer dining then the hotel restaurant might be more your..."

Blah blah blah...

The robot went around the room, explaining the purpose of every door and corridor and complimenting any staff member he came across. Flowey paid very little attention, the sales spiel had gotten old fast.

"... And of course the centerpiece of the room, this antique fountain! Did you know it's been here for nearly a hundred years? It's looking a bit drab, so we're planning to spruce it up by adding the visage of yours truly. A little glamour would really help tie the place together, don't you think?"

"DEFINITELY! WHO WOULDN'T WANT TO SEE YOUR BISHONEN GOOD LOOKS WHEN EVER THEY OPEN THE DOOR?!"

"Thank you darling, I knew you would agree. I'll show you your room now, then we can talk some more in the restaurant before the-"

Flowey raised an eyebrow. "Just one room? You said I could bring an assistant."

He wasn't particularly bothered, just a little surprised. He would have quite happily come here by himself, but after Papyrus found out about Mettaton's proposal he'd jumped at the opportunity to accompany his 'cool friend' to Hotland. It made him happy, so Flowey decided not to turn him down... besides, he would probably come in useful.

"Yes, but remember that only one of you will be sharing my limelight. If you really want a separate room for your assistant, he will have to pay for it himself, and i'm afraid all the non-megadeluxe rooms are already in use."

"You know what, just let Papyrus have it." Flowey said quickly. He didn't really want a room, it would just mean having to stay confined in a pot for longer.

Papyrus looked excited for a split second, then frowned and shook his head. "I APPRECIATE YOUR GENEROSITY FLOWEY, BUT I CAN'T TAKE YOUR ROOM."

Oh, he would make it more difficult than it needed to be, wouldn't he? Flowey held himself back from rolling his eyes and put on a patient smile. "Papyrus, it's fine. I can find somewhere else to stay." Anywhere else but Hotland...

"My, how selfless! If only we were recording right now, what a shame." Flowey didn't hold himself back from rolling his eyes at that. "Well anyway, here is your room." Mettaton guided them to a door down a side corridor. "And here is your room key."

He held the key out for Papyrus who began shuffling Flowey's pot under one arm to free the other hand. Flowey took the key and handed it to him once he was done.

"Well, i'll leave you to settle in. See you for lunch in an hour." With those parting words, Mettaton left them alone.

The room was much like the lobby decorated in rich red and gold colors, sparse but stylish furnishings and a bed so large you could find a lost civilization beneath the sheets! Flowey wondered if it was springy... Chara would have been jumping on that bed the moment the door swung open!

Papyrus walked around to place him on a precarious looking side table. "ARE YOU ABSOLUTELY SURE ABOUT THIS? IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SHARE, THEN I'M QUITE HAPPY TO STAY IN SNOWDIN, IT WOULDN'T TAKE LONG FOR ME TO TRAVEL HERE TO SEE YOU."

Why couldn't he just let this go? "Really Papyrus, you don't need to fuss over me like this. I'll figure something out."

"NO." Apparently not... "AS YOUR FRIEND IT WOULDN'T BE RIGHT FOR ME TO ACCEPT WITHOUT AT LEAST KNOWING YOU HAD SOMEWHERE TO GO FIRST." Heh, he never questioned where Flowey went before, funny how he cared now all of a sudden. Papyrus went quiet for a moment, then something seemed to come to him. "UNDYNE SAID THAT DR. ALPHYS LIVES IN HOTLAND! MAYBE SHE WOULD BE WILLING TO LET YOU STAY WITH HER FOR A WHILE?!"

Flowey's interest piqued up; that could actually be a good way to get closer to Alphys. "Do you have her phone number?"

Papyrus looked deflated. "NO... BUT UNDYNE MIGHT, I'LL ASK HER!" He promptly pulled out his phone and began dialing; Flowey thought it a little odd that he could dial with such ease while wearing gloves. "HELLO UNDYNE, DO YOU HAVE DR. ALPHYS' PHONE NUMBER? WE NEED TO ASK HER A FAVOR... ...I'M IN HOTLAND WITH FLOWEY AND HE NEEDS A PLACE TO STAY FOR A LITTLE WHILE... ...YES, BUT WE CAN'T GET ANOTHER ROOM HERE... ...HE GAVE ME HIS... ...I KNOW BUT HE INSISTED!... ...THANK YOU, I REALLY APPRECIATE YOU HELPING US OUT LIKE THIS, I WON'T FORGET IT!" He ended the call. "SHE'S GOING TO ASK FOR US."

Flowey smiled at him, but didn't say anything. While Papyrus anxiously fiddled with his phone, Flowey took a look at what he'd thought was a lamp, but actually turned out to be a bottle filled with something called 'Eau de Rectangle'. He considered trying to open it, but the cap was so stupidly big he wasn't sure it was even supposed to open. Eventually, the phone rang.

"HELLO... UNDYNE?" Papyrus answered before it could ring a second time. "DID YOU SPEAK TO HER? WHAT DID SHE SAY?... ... REALLY?! THANK YOU! AND THANK HER TO FOR ME TOO!" _Click._ "SHE AGREED TO LET YOU STAY WITH HER!"

Flowey's smile grew wider. "That's wonderful news! See, I told you you didn't need to fret about me, it all turns out okay in the end." Things were moving to plan even better than expected...

Very soon it was lunch time. They met up with Mettaton again and the three talked over a steak... or rather, Flowey surrendered his own to Papyrus, who unsurprisingly didn't get one. Mettaton talked at length about ratings and test audiences and other TV production related things, and again, Flowey didn't pay much attention... though Papyrus seemed enthralled by the robot's every word.

After lunch they headed outside to the stage just beyond the resort; numerous monsters were busy moving around props and setting up lights, ready for the big show.

... He was going to perform there? In front of an audience of possibly hundreds of monsters?...

"Here we are." Mettaton announced, rolling to stand in Papyrus' path. "Thank you darling, your presence is no longer needed. We can take it from here."

He reached out for Flowey's pot, Papyrus' face fell slightly. "OH... IT'S JUST, I THOUGHT I WOULD BE ABLE TO STAY AND WATCH THE REHEARSAL...?"

Mettaton paused for a long moment. "You know what, who am I to deny such a die-hard fan the chance to see my performance live? Just... try not to make too much noise, okay?"

"THANK YOU METTATON!" Papyrus handed over the pot and bounded towards the empty auditorium, taking a seat in the front row while Mettaton set Flowey down on a table in the middle of the set.

Everything was colored brightly, mostly in primary shades of red, blue and yellow. Behind them, several monsters were placing down large, wooden cutouts in the shapes of cartoon trees, balloons, flowers and other childish imagery. Flowey thought this show was going to be for monsters around his age? This was for kids way younger than him...

"See that?" Mettaton pointed out a camera placed just in front of the auditorium and angled towards them. "Look into that camera and give us your most fabulous smile~"

Flowey did as he was told. "Is it recording?" He asked through clenched teeth.

"Not yet darling, this is just for practice." The robot placed his hands down either side of Flowey's pot, making the space feel strangely claustrophobic. "CLEAR THE SET, WE ARE STARTING!" He winced at the loudness, Mettaton didn't seem to notice. After the others had left the set, Mettaton whispered his next instruction. "Now, I want you to introduce yourself to all the children who will be watching at home."

Flowey stared into the camera, he glanced quickly away at the beaming face of Papyrus in the stands, then back at the camera again. Back into the black hole that would carry his image to everyone in the underground... not helping.

 _Wait... what am I so worried about? It's not like I CARE what anyone thinks of me, and besides, if anything DOES go wrong, there's always a SAVE to go back to..._

 _I can have fun with this._

A genuine smile crept in atop his artificial one, he took a deep breath. "Howdy boys and girls, I'm Flowey the flower!"

"AND I'M METTATON, YOUR FABULOUS HOST!"

Flowey frowned. "Wait... aren't I a host too?"

"OF COURSE YOU ARE FLOWEY. NOW, BE A GOOD HOST AND PRESENT ALL THE WONDERFUL ARTWORK OUR VIEWERS HAVE BEEN SENDING IN!"

He was about to speak again when a pile of papers was dropped in front of him. Rubbing off the mild annoyance, he endeavored to play along and clumsily picked a piece from the top of the pile and held it up to the camera with a pair of vines; It was a crayon drawing depicting Mettaton wearing a jetpack.

"Golly, you're a creative bunch, aren'tcha?" Flowey said, sticking out his tongue playfully. "You sure captured his likeness, what do you think, Mettaton?"

"ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS DARLING! AND WHO SENT THIS ONE IN?"

He looked around for the name and found it scribbled in one corner; it was hard to make out. "This is from Penygor, age four and a half." He had to admit, It was a pretty good drawing for someone that young... if these were real and not just props made for show.

"WONDERFUL, SO WHO DO WE HAVE NEXT?"

Flowey set down the drawing and picked up the next one, presenting it to the camera. It depicted... "Oh..."

It depicted Mettaton flailing aimlessly on the ground while someone held his wheel above their head like a trophy. The image was rather more crudely drawn than the first, and the name was signed in very wide letters taking up most of the bottom of the page.

Mettaton spun towards one of the crew standing just out of shot. "I THOUGHT YOU SORTED THROUGH THESE!"

"Sssorry sssir, we only just got most of them in." The monster called back, recoiling his long neck in a show of guilt.

Mettaton sighed. "Well, at least we found it during a rehearsal and not a live broadcast. Disregard that one Flowey darling, we'll go with the next one."

Flowey set it down on the first and picked up another from the pile. This picture didn't feature Mettaton at all, but instead showed an idyllic field of grass and yellow flowers under a bright blue sky; a purple triangle rose up in the background which Flowey assumed to represent Mount Ebott. The picture was signed on the back.

"Evette Pac has sent this one in. Looks like it's a real nice day on the surface." _What a shame we couldn't all be up there instead._ He mentally added then immediately dismissed.

"OUTSTANDING! I CAN JUST IMAGINE MYSELF THERE RIGHT NOW."

Flowey set it down and picked up the next. He showed it to the camera then barely held back a snort. It was the crudest drawing yet depicting a waving Mettaton in the middle of the page with the words 'I AM A BIG DOODOO HED' written in gigantic letters across the top and bottom, barely contained within the paper's edges. It looked like Mettaton wasn't very popular with young children.

"Shall I go to the next one?" He asked with barely contained amusement.

Although it was impossible to read any expression on Mettaton's 'face', Flowey suspected by the way his arms slumped that he was exasperated. "No." The robot said and began gathering up the papers from the table. "I'll sort through these first myself. Besides, I think this is enough rehearsal for one day. You will be pleased to hear that you passed with flying colors! I knew you would~"

"Passed?" Flowey frowned while a twinge of annoyance crept over him. "This was a test?"

"Why of course, darling! I couldn't possibly put you in front of a live audience without knowing you could handle yourself on stage first. What did you think this was for?"

"Urm..." He hadn't actually given it much thought, but he supposed that made sense. "If this was a test, then what's different when we rehearse for real?"

"Rehearse? For real? Oh darling, there's no room for rehearsal in true Show business. You need to be prepared to take everything as it comes! ALL performances will be LIVE! It's just the way things are, you don't want to disappoint your soon-to-be adoring fans now, do you?"

"Oh... okay." He didn't understand the logic in what Mettaton was saying, but it also didn't really matter.

All performances were live, huh? Well no problem! With a SAVE point and an audience full of young kids...

He could have a LOT of fun with this... hee hee hee...


	22. The Truth

Flowey studied the computer screen with mild disinterest. Mettaton had not been happy after some of his subtle suggestions landed them with more than a few complaint letters from disgruntled parents. He smiled just thinking about it. The best part was that he'd ended up being such a hit with the kids that all Mettaton could do was beg him not to give them anymore stupid ideas; removing him from the show at this point would be PR suicide.

"Have you picked anything out?" Alphys called from the floor above.

"Not yet." He called back, then resumed staring at the list of titles on the monitor - it was his turn to pick out an anime to watch tonight.

Alphys had been a reluctant host to start with - jumpy, forgetful and stuttering constantly. After the first couple of day's she'd calmed down considerably... especially after he'd agreed to watch anime with her. The very first time, Alphys had barely been able to contain her excitement; it'd been quite something to watch, it almost made up for the cartoon itself. Flowey grumbled and scrolled down the list. Anime was something of a mixed bag, sometimes he found shows with awesome fight scenes, giant guns and flaming laser swords! While other times it was cutsie, lovie-dovie 'power of friendship' type deals. Alphys preferred the latter. Thankfully, Undyne had saved her own list of favorites, and she had far better taste in cartoons.

Shame he'd already seen everything on her favorites.

Flowey clicked off the list and went back to the desktop and its awful Mew Mew Kissy Cutie wallpaper. He sighed, then shook his head; he shouldn't fault the lizard too much, she HAD been kind enough to make some useful modifications to his pot - modifications that let him move about without having to burrow underground. She was a very competent engineer... he just wasn't getting anywhere on the whole 'soul' topic right now.

"By the way, these came for you today." Alphys' voice drifted from the descending escalator.

Flowey quickly put the list of anime back on the screen as she approached. She set a pile of letters down beside him, then smiled meekly and checked the screen.

"D-don't spend too long picking something out, or we won't have time to watch it." She stammered, then hurried back upstairs.

He glanced at the letters, then back at the computer. Looked like more mail from the little fan club Papyrus had made for him. It was... flattering, he supposed? A little weird, but then again he'd come to expect that sort of thing from Papyrus by now, so it just became kinda amusing.

After a few seconds passed, Flowey crawled to the edge of the desk and checked that Alphys was definitely out of the room. Nothing, not even a sound. He went back to the desktop... he probably shouldn't be doing this. He knew in his mind that this wasn't the right thing to do, but he was too bored and curious to pretend to care. He opened up a folder labeled 'Confidential Notes' and began looking through the contents...

Stories, most of which featured Alphys and Undyne. He skimmed over a couple... well those were certainly... well they were something! He thought he should be feeling some sort of embarrassment for Alphys, but the mixture of confusion, disgust and amusement was probably enough emotion to deal with anyway. He closed the folder and opened the next one down... Aha! So she DID have other anime on her computer! He set one to play on low volume just to check...

... This didn't look like any anime he'd ever seen before. It was... he... what was he even looking at? What were they doing to each other?... This didn't feel right. He closed the video.

Maybe this wasn't the best idea he'd ever had... Flowey was about to give up and go back to the list of regular anime, when another folder caught his eye labeled 'DT Research'. This time he clicked cautiously... no video files. There were a lot of notes though... drawings, lab entries and some pretty complicated looking equations. He skimmed over a few of the pictures first, but they only brought up more questions. Hmm...

-ENTRY NUMBER 1: This is it... Time to do what the King has asked me to do. I will create the power to free us all. I will unleash the power of the SOUL.-

The breath hitched in Flowey's throat and he almost jumped when a knock sounded from the front door. He put his head down and continued reading.

-ENTRY NUMBER 2: The barrier is locked by SOUL power.. Unfortunately, this power cannot be recreated artificially. SOUL power can only be derived from what was once living. So, to create more, we will have to use what we have now... The SOULs of monsters.-

"H-hang on, I'm coming!" Alphys called from above while scurrying down the escalator and simultaneously tying up the belt around her fluffy pink dressing gown.

-ENTRY NUMBER 3: But extracting a SOUL from a living monster would require incredible power... Besides being impractical, doing so would instantly destroy the SOUL's host. And, unlike the persistent SOULs of humans... The SOULs of most monsters disappear immediately upon death. If only I could make a monster's SOUL last...-

The door slid open, Sans stood on the other side holding a large bag of dog food.

"Oh thank god Sans, you're a lifesaver!" Alphys grabbed the bag with both arms and hugged it to her body, but the size was too much; she fell forwards and almost hit her head against the tiled floor.

"oops." Sans said while catching her and replacing his hands under the bag. "sorry alph, forgot you were a lightweight."

"T-that has nothing to do with anything!" She looked indignant, but her face quickly flushed with embarrassment. "B-but I would appreciate it if you could help me carry this inside."

"sure, no problem." He shrugged and the two picked up the dog food together.

Flowey turned back to the computer screen.

-ENTRY NUMBER 4: I've been researching humans to see if I can find any info about their SOULS. I ended up snooping around the castle... And found these weird tapes. I don't feel like ASGORE's watched them... I don't think he should.-

Unease pricked at the base of his stem... he didn't like the idea of Alphys snooping around his family's old things... he wondered what she must have found there...

-ENTRY NUMBER 5: I've done it. Using the blueprints, I've extracted it from the human SOULs. I believe this is what gives their SOULs the strength to persist after death. The will to keep living... The resolve to change fate. Let's call this power... "Determination."-

... Human souls? So more humans did fall, then his dad... his dad did... ha, ha... there was probably a good explanation for this...

-ENTRY NUMBER 6: ASGORE asked everyone outside the city for monsters that had "fallen down." Their bodies came in today. They're still comatose... And soon, they'll all turn into dust. But what happens if I inject "determination" into them? If their SOULS persist after they perish, then... Freedom might be closer than we all thought.-

"speakin' of dogs, are you going to the wedding?"

"W-wedding? I-I didn't know there was any wedding I-"

"hey, don't worry about it."

-ENTRY NUMBER 7: We'll need a vessel to wield the monster SOULs when the time comes. After all, a monster cannot absorb the SOULs of other monsters. Just as a human cannot absorb a human SOUL... So then... What about something that's neither human nor monster?-

"Thank you Sans."

"like i said, no problem."

"H-hey Flowey, did you make your choice yet? If you take any longer I'll have t-"

-ENTRY NUMBER 8: I've chosen a candidate. I haven't told ASGORE yet, because I want to surprise him with it... In the center of his garden, there's something special. The first golden flower, that grew before all the others. The flower from the outside world. It appeared just before the queen left. I wonder... What happens when something without a SOUL gains the will to live?-

"Oh my god."

He couldn't stop shaking, he could barely control his vines. Slowly, he turned to find Alphys watching him, to see all the color drain from her face.

 _What happens when something without a SOUL gains the will to live?_

"Y-" He swallowed, barely able to breath let alone speak. "Y-you... y-you c-c-created m-me l-like this?"

Deep down he'd known it was likely true... but seeing the evidence there for himself he... he didn't know what to think. He COULDN'T think. All he could think... all he could feel... was a blur. It was like his head had suddenly filled with cotton wool.

"Flowey I..." Alphys trailed off, sweat dripped from her brow and her hands shook violently. "Flowey I-" She tried again, but the air hitched in her throat. She swallowed, then took a deep breath and exhaled slowly while choosing to stare at the floor. "Flowey, I need to show you something..." Still refusing to look him in the eye, she reached out for his pot and placed it on the ground. "I... I should have shown you this a long time ago."

She walked slowly across the room to the thick metal door with the bathroom sign beside it; the door slid open with a loud clunk. Flowey followed to find an elevator instead of a bathroom, but that detail barely glanced his mind. Alphys stepped inside and picked a floor. They waiting in silence as the doors closed and the soft hum of electromagnets announced their departure. he was glad of the silence.

Soon the lift came to a stop, and the doors shuddered open. "W-well... here we are." Alphys announced shakily. "Your birthplace."

Flowey crawled outside, the mechanical legs of his modified pot clinking against the metal floor tiles and echoing off the walls. The lights were dimmed and the air was cool and still, giving the hallway an eery chill, as though it were abandoned. Though clearly it was not.

Alphys led the way, and Flowey continued to follow her. He didn't really feel like he was here anymore, he felt distant, like he was watching himself from somewhere else. They passed a number of displays filled with green text and down more long corridors. A vending machine, a set of beds, a... room filled with potted golden flowers...

"I'm sorry you had to find out this way." Alphys said, letting her gaze drop to the floor once again. "The king wanted me to find a way to break the barrier, but the souls we had weren't taking to the normal flowers, so I... I guess you already know what I did?... To you?" He nodded slowly. "B-but the research turned out to be a dead end. After everything went wrong, I thought... I thought i'd managed to contain everything."

Contain everything...? Something went wrong...?

A cacophony of barking and howling reverberated off the walls.

Alphys jumped. "I-I need to feed Endogeny. Please wait here, i'll be right back." She scurried away, leaving Flowey in the room alone.

Something peeked around the corner - a huge white form, its body melted, undulating and shifting constantly in a sickening, unnatural way. The vaguely dog-shaped entity shambled through the doorway, leaving a trail of slime in its wake. Whatever this creature was... it was not an ordinary monster. Soon it was towering over him, dripping froth from a large orifice on what could only be amused to be its head. Struck dumb, Flowey stared into the gaping maw as drool slid over his petals. Eventually something primal kicked in, and he bolted for the door.

They were everywhere now; the melted horrors. He saw them as he ran, out the corner of his eye - the hallways resonated with their cries. He would not stop, all he knew in this moment was to run. Run and keep running until...

Dead end.

 _No no nononono..._

He looked about frantically for another way out, but all there was to this room was a TV and some video tapes. Thankfully the howling quietened, and Flowey took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.

That thing... THOSE things... were they what remained of the other monsters?! The other VICTIMS of Alphys' RECKLESS experiments?! The mistakes that she needed to CONTAIN?! He could have been... he could have been like them.

Trapped down here, going insane out of his mind in this miserable lab!

 _If she hadn't put the flower back... if she had kept me locked up here... HOW LONG WOULD IT HAVE TAKEN BEFORE ANYONE WOULD HAVE FOUND ME?!_

Ha... hahahahaha.. ha... ha...

 _She... she..._

He paced up and down, fighting against the anger building in his stem. Eventually he walked outside, and stopped at the edge of a pit.

 _Useless, stupid lizard! I HATE HER! I HATE YOU, ALPHYS! I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU!_

"I HATE YOU!" He yelled with more passion than expected and recoiled as his own words echoed off the walls. A rabble of indecipherable voices rose up in response, but quickly died down again.

Tears began forcing their way into his eyes, but he grit his teeth and fought against them. No, not again. He looked up to notice a structure in front of him, hovering above the abyss. It was ominous and skull-like... it made the air around feel colder, but somehow, he couldn't look away. A terminal on the wall labeled it as a 'DT extraction machine'.

DT... determination... _'The will to keep living... the resolve to change fate.'_ Extracted from... human SOULs... _'Time to do what the King has asked me to do.'_

Flowey's eyes flew wide open. He hauled himself out of the pot and threw it aside; smashed fragments skidded and clattered across the ground as he ripped up the tile beneath and pulled himself under. But he didn't care. He found an elevator shaft and followed it upwards, emerging in the castle... then he headed for the garden.

... Yes, there he was. Standing oh so peacefully among his flowers in the last rays of evening sunlight. How predictable.

"YOU!" Flowey screamed, barely able to contain his rage.

Before Asgore could respond, vines had wrapped around his throat and horns. He gasped as he was dragged to his knees, made level with his attacker's eyes which he gazed into with a dumb look of shock and confusion.

"YOU KILLED THEM!" Flowey screeched, scrunching his eyes up against the tears that were refusing to be held back. "AFTER... AFTER WHAT I DID... YOU WENT AND KILLED THEM ANYWAY!" He pulled Asgore closer and snarled. "WHY?!... WHY?! DID I LOSE MY LIFE FOR NOTHING?! What was the point in any of this If I... I... if you..." He broke down, the vines around his father loosened as the strength drained from his body.

There was a long moment. Asgore made no moves to escape, he just stared into Flowey's face with an expression that couldn't be read. "I think you must be confused." He said softly. "Please just calm down, then we can talk about whatever it is that has you so upset. Everything is going to be alright"

Flowey hissed and pushed him back. "No it's not! Why would you even say that? What makes you think any of this is alright?! I..." He gasped. "I TRUSTED YOU DAD!"

Before another word could be said, he ducked underground and furiously dug away. He was fuming, boiling over with rage and hate and... this... this was too much... too much to all take in at once. He didn't burrow far, just far enough to be away from Asgore - to not have to see the stupid king's face or hear his stupid excuses.

He surfaced into a room of grey stone, it was cold and had no windows; must be the basement. He was so tired, so drained by everything that he wanted nothing more than to collapse then and there and pretend this was all just a bad dream... or maybe he'd done so already.

Because that line of stone boxes was looking horribly familiar...


	23. Respite

Early morning sunlight filtered onto the flowerbed, bathing it in a gentle, life-giving glow. The air was very still, being so far underground that wasn't really surprising; only the large caverns had weather, but that wasn't important. The sounds of footsteps echoed off the crumbling walls and pillars. They filled the empty place like a heartbeat. A lonely heart... so very alone.

"Hello, Toriel." He said from his place among the flowers, unmoving. "Nice day today, huh?"

The footsteps deadened. "Who is there?"

There was a long pause before Flowey spoke again; he didn't want to do this, but he needed to know the truth. "How many fell?"

"I'm sorry, I don't know what you-"

"From here. How many humans fell down from here." He added quickly, his gaze still unshifted from the high gap above.

There was another long pause, the silence felt almost deafening. "Where are you? I do not like talking to someone I cannot see."

He let out a long sigh. "Come to the flower patch."

The footsteps came light, slow and suspicious. Eventually, he saw her out the corner of his eye; it took all his willpower not to turn away.

"I know you come here every day to take care of the flowers." He said. "This is the only way into the Underground besides..." He trailed off, swallowing against the painful memories surfacing in his mind. "So, if any humans were to fall down... you would be the first to know."

"How do you know these things? Have you been spying on me?" She spoke slowly and calmly, but there was a dangerous edge to her voice.

He really wasn't in the mood for this right now... "We used to know each other, but it was a long time ago."

"I have been around for a very long time." She said, unconvinced. "Perhaps even too long... and in all that time I have never seen a monster who looked anything like you before."

"You wouldn't remember. It's... complicated." He said quickly through gritted teeth, then decided to backtrack before she could interrogate him further. "Did you find any humans who had fallen here?"

"... I would rather not talk about this." Her words were stern and came through tight lips. It was evidence enough in itself.

"So you did know them!"

Her body language became more rigid. "I said that I did not wish to talk about this right now. I think it would be best if you leave."

"How many?"

"Please leave."

"Were they the reason you left the castle? Were they why you locked yourself in the ruins and refuse to let anyone in or out? And why you come to this spot every day? Were you... trying to protect them?"

"The conversation is over."

"Please, just... just talk to me!" He bristled. "Why can't you talk to me?!"

There was silence, then Toriel started to walk away. Agh, why did she have to be so stubborn?!

"Wait!" The footsteps stopped, but Toriel still said nothing. "Did you... did you love them?"

He turned to face her. The posture of her body, though held proper, faltered slightly along with her breath; there was pain in her eyes, just for a moment, then it was gone. She started walking away again and soon vanished beyond the archway.

Distant footsteps echoed to nothing, Flowey's heart may as well have stopped... if he'd had one. He submerged underground and dug in no particular direction, just... just trying to process everything. The evening before had been a shamble, and he was still reeling from it. Soon the dry dirt and rock gave way to cold permafrost, then after a time of mindless digging, the sound of distant crashing water gave him pause. He surfaced to find himself on a cliff edge with a raging river coursing far below. He knew that river well, it'd flowed along its path between Snowdin and Hotland since before he'd even been born; one of the few things unchanged around here, it seemed.

"Hello." Said a voice Flowey had never heard before. "You look sad, is something wrong?"

He turned around, and found a snowman beside him. "Did you say that?" He asked it.

"Yes" It made no visible movements, but there was nowhere else the sound could have come from. "You seem surprised."

He attempted a non-committal shrug. "No, not really. I'm not sure anything can surprise me now."

"Oh." It said. "That's a shame."

A prickle of irritation passed through him. "What is that supposed to mean?!"

"Oh, I just thought it was a shame you know so much already, that you don't think the world can surprise you anymore."

"No, that's not what I meant!" He snapped. "I just mean... I meant... ugh!" He bit his lip and took a moment to reorder his thoughts. "The things I thought I understood... I don't think I understand anymore."

"So something is wrong." The snowman said calmly.

Flowey huffed. "Yeah, okay, something is wrong. Why do you care?"

"I am a snowman and cannot move. When people come to visit me, I listen to their stories, as I have no stories of my own to share."

"You want to know my story?" He said, biting back the red-hot pool of emotion swirling inside him. "Okay, sure. Once upon a time there was a kid who made a stupid mistake and died."

"Oh, that's not a very happy story."

"Oh no, it gets better! One day, the kid gets brought back to life, but without his soul! He hates life so much he tries to KILL himself, but fails, and is too scared to end his existence for good. Being the hopeful IDIOT he is, he thinks he can solve his problems by making everyone ELSE happy instead..."

"He doesn't sound like an idiot to me."

"THEN he found out his dad was a murderer, and his mom replaced him... but even without knowing that, no matter how hard he tried, he COULDN'T LOVE THEM ANYWAY!" He gasped against the torrent of emotion released from his rant. It was strangely relieving, even as tears stung the corners of his eyes. "The end."

There was a long pause. As Flowey calmed down, the silence only became more and more awkward.

"I see." The snowman said finally. "But why does it make you an idiot for trying to make other people happy?"

"Because! I..." He trailed off, he wasn't sure how to answer that.

"It was not the happiness of others which led to you being unhappy." It continued. "You shouldn't judge yourself so harshly for trying to do the right thing."

"No... this was still my fault. If I hadn't died this never would have happened..."

"But you can't change the past." The words rang in his mind like an echo. He could, he could change the past! Just... not far back enough. So close and yet... he scrunched his eyes at the miserable thought. "I don't know why your parents did what they did, perhaps they had good reasons. Whatever they may have been, I think you should keep going down the path you chose. It is much more noble than the one I would have chosen."

It took a while for Flowey to speak again. "How is it you can be so positive when you can't even move?"

"There's no point in sulking when I cannot change the way I am. One day, a traveler will come by, and when they do they will take a piece of me with them, far away so I can experience the world for myself."

He raised a skeptical eyebrow. "You can't be so certain of that."

"I have to have hope, everyone needs hope."

Flowey looked at the snowman for a long time, then let out a defeated sigh. "You're right."

Of all the monsters in the Underground, it took a snowman to put it all into perspective. There was more to the story that he needed to uncover, there were more monsters who's problems needed to be solved, there was still hope. For him, for everyone, there was still hope here. He needed it, they all did, because without hope... there is only despair.

"Thank you, for everything." He said graciously, then pulled himself underground once more.

He closed his eyes and called forth the time-frozen void; his little SAVE star twinkled in the distance. Flowey had forgotten the last time he'd SAVED, he approached slowly and peered into the star's otherworldly light, but it offered no clues. Not that it mattered. With one fell slash he tore the star asunder, it's glittering light fading as it shattered into a million tiny fragments, leaving nothing but darkness. This timeline was done, there was no saving it, he'd messed up too much. He was probably long overdue a RESET anyway.

Time to go back to the beginning. He'd do better this time, but first, there was one little detail he needed clearing up...


	24. The Trap

_"Howdy Papyrus!"_

 _"HELLO, WHO'S THERE?... WOWIE! ARE YOU... A TALKING FLOWER!? HOW DID YOU KNOW MY NAME?"_

 _"Hee hee hee. Yup, that's me! I know many things, but right now I could really use your help. Do you think you can handle a small favor for me? It's something very important."_

 _"OF COURSE, SMALL FLOWER PERSON! THE GREAT PAPYRUS IS ALWAYS HAPPY TO HELP OUT A MONSTER IN NEED! WHATEVER THE TASK MAY BE, YOU CAN COUNT ON ME!"_

 _"Golly, you really are the greatest..."_

* * *

The best thing about time travel were the second chances; no matter how many times you screwed up, you could always go back and try again. No problem. The sense of deja vu was uncanny as Flowey sat in the early morning sunlight. It was funny to think that, the last time he'd been in this spot was almost a year into the future, yet at the same time, only a day and a half ago.

And only he would ever remember it.

The chamber was empty as usual, It made for a good place to think. He'd been doing a lot of thinking lately, mostly to plan out how to go about this timeline. Most monster's issues wouldn't be too hard to fix now that he knew what he was doing. He hadn't given up on the possibility of getting his soul back, either. But beyond those things he had no solid plan...

Faint, familiar footsteps echoed through the old archway. Flowey ducked underground.

"Howdy!" He chirped, resurfacing in the center of a grass circle.

Toriel stumbled backwards, losing grip on her rusted watering can. It hit the ground with a loud _Clank!_ and sent water flying everywhere... but mostly onto her robes. Flowey had to hold himself back from laughing at the sight - she did NOT look happy!

"Greetings." She said with visible effort not to yell at him. Her expression soon softened into a more confused one, though the signs of irritation never went away. "I am sorry, I was not expecting anyone to be out here."

"That's okay, I wasn't expecting to find anyone here either!" He lied, taking a moment to drink in the look she gave him before adding. "I'm sorry about startling you."

Toriel didn't reply immediately. She stooped down, brushing vainly at the sodden patches on her robes as she reclaimed her watering can from the ground. When she returned to full height she looked considerably more composed.

"It is fine, it was just an accident." She said finally with a small smile. "I did not know anyone besides myself came to this part of the ruins. Do you come here often?"

"Oh gosh no. Just once or twice, but no one was ever around."

"Ah I see." She appeared to have relaxed. Her smile grew more serine and she took a moment to enjoy the quiet... or perhaps it was the company? Flowey knew from the first timeline that she never really spoke to the monsters living in the ruins. They were all too afraid of her. "It is calming here, don't you think?"

"Yeah, it's nice to be somewhere with real sunlight, so few places in the Underground get that. If you listen closely, I think you can even hear the birds on the surface." He smiled, projecting a sense of tranquility. "And I feel much safer, knowing a big locked door is between me and whatever it was out there." It was hard holding his face straight as he spoke that last line.

He watched closely for the reaction from Toriel; she looked surprised, then a concerned frown wove across her face. "What do you mean?"

She was buying it. Good. "Something was in the woods outside Snowdin town. I didn't see it myself, the Royal Guards came to us and told us to find a safe place while they tracked it down and captured it. Whatever it was, it must have been really dangerous for so many of them to be out there at once! So I came here. There's no way it could ever get in here!" Being a part of Mettaton's shows had really helped with improving his acting skills.

Toriel's eyes grew wide. "No no. You must be mistaken." It sounded more like she was talking to herself than to anyone else.

How interesting... "Oh no, they were very adamant about it! They said it was important for this creature to be captured and brought to the king." He watched her fidget and break eye contact. "I think I might have heard it on the way here, but i'm not sure. I heard a sound like a scream, then it started crying. It sounded so genuine that I wanted to help but... the leader of the Guard told me it was a trap."

"Did they." She said slowly through clenched teeth. "I need to go."

She turned around and headed briskly back towards the heart of the ruins. Flowey ducked underground and followed, watching quietly as she marched through the crumbling corridors and ancient puzzles until she was back at the old house. He was about to burrow past the entrance to Snowdin when he heard her footsteps stop. Several seconds passed, and they didn't start again.

 _What the heck is she waiting for?_

He surfaced in a corner of the tunnel where water had eroded the rock almost to a powder, well away from the the patch of sunlight. She was here, standing by the door. Not doing anything, just... staring at it. When he looked closer, he saw that she was trembling. Why? Was she afraid of leaving? Had she been down here so long now that she couldn't face the rest of the Underground anymore? It looked like she wanted to run away and hide, but something was keeping her in place.

 _Isn't a life worth overcoming your fear for?_

Slowly, she reached for the door-handles and rested her hands upon them. Taking in a deep breath, she pushed the door open, releasing a frigid gust of air into the passageway.

 _Thank you_. Flowey thought feeling a small glimmer of hope.

She strode though the forest without the slightest hint of hesitation. Once the sounds of shouting and barking drifted through the town she increased her pace; it was becoming hard to keep up as the permafrost numbed Flowey's body.

"STOP THIS RIGHT NOW!" She shouted, bursting into the clearing.

All went silent... Flowey surfaced behind a tree to watch. The residents at the town gathering had all turned to face her; the dogs - who's mouths were overloaded with balls and frisbees - cocked their heads curiously.

"HEY! Who the heck are you?!" Undyne marched up from crowd to stand toe to toe with the queen. "And whoever you are, what makes you think you can come over here and tell us to stop?!"

Toriel watched her icily. "To whom am I speaking?"

"That would be Undyne, Captain of the Royal Guard." She grinned, revealing her large, pointed teeth. "But I think I asked you first, punk."

Undyne's aggressive tone did not seem to phase Toriel, at least, not on the surface. Her voice took on a dangerous edge. "Greetings miss Undyne, as the captain of the Guard i'm sure you can answer my question. Where is the human?"

Undyne's smile fell. "What human?"

"THERE'S A HUMAN HERE?!" Papyrus chirped. "SANS! THIS COULD BE MY BIG CHANCE!" He rushed towards his brother's sentry station where the Sans leaned against the counter. The smaller skeleton looked like he'd just woken up and wasn't sure what to make of everything.

Soon the entire crowd was abuzz with chatter about humans, this only served to fuel Undyne's annoyance. "Ngahhhh! Everybody be QUIET please while I sort this out!" She commanded the crowd. Once the chatter had died away, she addressed Toriel again. "Are you telling me there's a human loose in the Underground right now?!"

The queen's assured expression faltered. "I was told th-"

"Tori?"

Everyone turned to face the new arrival in the clearing; it was a voice they all knew well.

"Asgore...?" She gasped, momentarily dumbstruck before her features filled with rage. "Why have you come here?!"

The king seemed taken aback, he held out his arms as if to gesture to everything around himself. "I think I may go where I please within-"

"He was invited." Undyne Interjected.

Asgore turned to her, a kind but strained smile on his face. "Please Undyne, I appreciate the gesture but I can handle my own battles." After a moment, Undyne begrudgingly stepped down and joined the rest of the Guard in spectating. He turned his attention back to Toriel; despite her scornful gaze, he seemed strangely happy. "But that doesn't matter right now. Because, Tori... after all this time, you came back!"

"Don't 'Tori' me, Dreemurr! You pathetic whelp." She scoffed. "I am only here to protect another innocent life from being cut down by you."

Asgore's smile slipped and his gaze fell to the ground. "I did what I had to do... to bring everyone hope."

"You call this hope? If you really wanted to free our kind, you would have gone through the barrier after you got ONE soul, taken six souls from the humans, then come back and freed everyone peacefully. But instead, you made everyone live in despair. You're a coward, Dreemurr. You couldn't follow through, instead you waited, meekly hoping another human would never come." The crowd watched in shock as the queen's words tore into Asgore like a knife through butter.

The king looked smaller than he'd ever been before in the wake of her wrath. "Tori... you're right. I am a pathetic creature."

But she ignored him. "I'll ask again... where is the human?"

There was a long silence, whether out of confusion or fear, no one dared answer her. Undyne came to Asgore's side and wrapped her arm around him, but he pushed her away.

"No one has mentioned anything about a human in the Underground, to me." He said, looking up confused.

"Even if there was one." Undyne spat, still holding herself defensively beside Asgore. "Would you really stand in the way of everyone's hopes and dreams when we're only one soul away from freedom?!"

"The price of freedom is never worth a life." She said simply. "Human or monster. You will have to find another way."

"don't mean to interrupt or anything-"

"That voice." Toriel spun around to see Sans approaching from the crowd in his usual, casual manor. She smiled uncertainly. "Hello, I think we may know each other...?"

"i recognized your voice too, it's nice to finally meet you in person... just kinda wish it was under better circumstances." He stopped before the queen and looked around at the spectators, their expressions still displayed a vibrant mix of shock and confusion. "but I gotta ask, who exactly told you there was a human here?"

A small shiver ran down Flowey's stem; leave it to Sans to be the first to start putting the pieces together.

"Oh, it was a strange monster. It looked like a talking flower." She said thoughtfully.

"WHAT A COINCIDENCE! A TALKING FLOWER TOLD ME TO TELL UNDYNE TO CALL ASGORE TO COME TO THE GATHERING TODAY! HE SAID IT WAS VERY IMPORTANT, BUT DIDN'T SAY WHY... MAYBE IT'S THE SAME FLOWER?!" Papyrus added enthusiastically.

"uhu.." Sans nodded and looked towards the treeline. "you can come out now bud, we know you're here."

Welp, looked like the show was over - he may as well make his appearance. Flowey popped up in the middle of the clearing. "Howdy!"

Everyone immediately turned to stare at him; it would have been unnerving, but he wasn't worried. He smiled up at Sans and waited for the skeleton's response.

But it was not Sans who spoke first. "Why..." Toriel, her face filled with confusion and anger. "You lied to me...? Why did you lie...? Make me think someone was in danger so I would leave... why would you put me through this?"

His smile grew wider, he had to keep himself from grinning too broadly at the satisfaction. "Because." He started. "I wanted to know the truth. The FULL truth, and I'm sick of being ignored, turned away, redirected and lied to!" He shot a frown towards his father; the king looked more broken than he'd ever seen him before. "You broke my trust, you both did. I wanted you to know what that felt like!"

"But we don't even know you!" Toriel gasped, her eyes glistening with tears, confusion replaced by exhaustion and pain. She looked so pathetic. His former self, before he'd died, would have felt bad for them, would have felt terrible for what he'd just done. But he was done pining over that part of himself.

"I'm not sorry." He said coldly, not a single waver in his voice. "But non of this will matter anyway, I got what I came for."

"What sort of miserable creature are you!?" Toriel wailed.

 _I'm your son_. He answered mentally, then ducked underground before anyone could say anything more to him.

Sometimes horrible things had to be done to find the truth. He wished he didn't take pleasure in seeing his parent's pain, but after what he'd gone through it was hard not to... especially when he felt no guilt to stop him. Ugh, this whole situation was messed up... at least it could all be undone. Toriel and Asgore would never need to know this happened, and he would still keep his knowledge.

It seems the only way to truly know the soul of a monster, was to push them. He hoped he would never have to do that again.


	25. Second Chances

Asgore joined in at the gathering. Everything had gone completely smoothly; it looked like he'd had a lot of fun talking with residents and playing with the dogs. Both Undyne and Papyrus seemed happy with the outcome, too. No harm done.

After all that was said and done... Flowey had to concede, that, the signs had been there all along. From the old shoe in Waterfall, to the box of shoes in his room in the old house... but that was all in hindsight now.

A lifetime had passed, since he'd last been in here...

His room... _their_ room. It was cold without Chara around. Lifeless. A knot tied in his non-existent chest as old memories washed over him. He'd been avoiding coming here for a long time, knowing the reality that greeted him would not be the same as the one he remembered; the memories were more comforting when he could pretend things hadn't changed.

In a way, he was right. The room had been left untouched since the night of his and Chara's deaths... yet somehow, that just made things worse.

On the floor, sitting exactly where they'd left them were two white boxes, neatly tied up with red ribbons. Flowey knew that the box closest to Chara's bed contained a dagger. It had been his last gift to them; knowing of their keen interest in gardening, he'd wanted to get them something special. It hadn't been easy to come by... his mother was very against letting them have anything sharp, and it took a lot of persuasion for his father to finally find a workaround. The blade was used, and just blunt enough to pass his mother's approval. He looked at the box forlornly, letting out a small sigh. They never even got the chance to see it.

He turned his attention away to the second box. This was Chara's gift to him, given right before they'd enacted their plan. It was also unopened... they'd agreed to open their gifts in celebration, after freeing everyone. In truth, he'd been far too worried about his sibling slowly dying in their bed to even think about presents. But he never doubted them... why did he have to go and ruin everything...

Flowey extended a vine and pulled the box towards himself. He probably didn't even deserve this gift anymore, after what he'd done... but he at least needed to know what it was. Just... just so he wouldn't have to wonder anymore. Just to tie up this last loose end... so he could move on with his plans.

Carefully, he untied the red-ribbon bow - still sturdy after all this time - and lifted away the lid. Something inside caught the light, glimmering with a metallic sheen. He reached in and scooped it out, it was... a locket? It hung daintily from its chain, a golden heart with the words 'Best Friends Forever' engraved onto the front. He manipulated a tendril into the latch and gently pried it open. It was empty.

Such a kind and thoughtful gift. Chara knew exactly what he would have wanted, what would have made him happy.. and yet, he felt as hollow as its contents. He stared at the necklace for a long moment before lowered it back into its box. Regret. That was all he could feel right now, overbearing regret.

 _I'll make it up to you, Chara, this time i'll do everything right. I'll free everyone, just like we planned. I promise._

Flowey felt a strange sense of accomplishment as he slipped away from his old room. It was like a weight had been lifted, a weight he'd never even realized was there... though it also left him with a bitter taste in his mouth.

He dug downwards, following the elevator shaft connecting the capitol to Hotland until he reached the lowest depth it would go. A sudden, muffled scream rose through the walls and reverberated in the lift's metal casing. He swallowed hard against the wave of grid-locking doubt and apprehension rising inside of him. He could do this, he'd faced his fears once already, he could do it again.

Entering into the lab, the rooms and corridors were just as cold and uninviting as he'd remembered from the last timeline; though now everything was also covered in a sticky layer of slime.

"P-please j-just calm down, I brought you food!" Alphys' voice drifted from around a corner, an indecipherable rabble of noises followed in response; like a dozen different monsters were all trying to speak at once. Flowey followed the voices.

"Wh... e... n... can... I... see... my... s-"

"Soon! Y-you will all be released soon! I-I just need to m-make sure your conditions aren't going to uh... get worse. I... p-promise."

"Get worse...?"

"Get worse...?"

"Get worse...?"

"How can it get worse?!"

"How can it get worse?!"

"How can it get worse?!"

"W-well um... l-look on the bright side, at least you're not d-dead?... heh..."

He pulled away a floor panel quietly and surfaced beside an open doorway. Peeking inside, he spotted Alphys backed up against a switch on the wall with a paper bag held tightly in her claws. Three 'monsters' surrounded her, all oozing slime and barely keeping their shapes.

A monster that looked like a mix between a fish, a worm and a slime scowled at her.

"And this is better?!"

"And this is better?!"

"And this is better?!" Multiple voices overlapped as it spoke, making the sound abnormally loud and painful to listen to.

Alphy's winced. "I-i'm sure I can fix this! Just give me t-time to work on it!"

A monster resembling Snowdrake combined with two vegetoids took a step forwards. "Th... en... I... can... see... s... s... no... wy...?"

Alphys tried to back away, but there was nowhere left to back into. Before she could speak again, the third monster - some kind of impossible bird - opened it's mouth and unleashed an indescribable, unholy screech. The bag held within the her claws rustled as her whole body shook and she sputtered desperately for a response.

He couldn't say that she didn't deserve this after what she'd done... but regardless of how he felt about the scientist, he had a promise to keep.

"Howdy!" Flowey said, appearing at the door. All the melted monsters spun around to face him, and what remained of the color in Alphy's face drained away. "Can I join in with your meeting?"

"Who are you?"

"Who are you?"

"Who are you?" The first monster demanded.

Flowey was unsure whether it was aggressive, or just had a naturally fearsome appearance... well, as 'natural' as a creature like that could be. "Me? Oh I'm-"

"Th-the flower!" Alphys cut him off. "I-I didn't know you-"

"Oh, I know everything." Flowey cut back, disregarding his previous train of though. He held a steady smile on his face. "I know how you created me, and how you created..." He looked the melted monsters up and down. "Them. I know that it all went wrong, and I know that you're covering it up!"

Alphys collapsed to her knees and covered her face with her hands. She shook her head slowly from side to side and muttered the same word under her breath over and over. "nononononono..."

Flowey ignored her. "But you know what?" He took a deep breath and closed his eyes; these next words would take a lot of effort to say. "I forgive you."

Alphys looked up. "... W-what?"

"I forgive you." He repeated. "And I want to help you fix everything."

"Y-you want... but I-I don't know how y-"

"Hey, it's either accept my offer, or risk me revealing your secret to everyone. After all, it's not like you can keep me contained here like the others." Flowey caught himself before his anger could rise any higher and derail his speech. After a moment he continued. "Besides, it looks like you could really use the help."

Alphys said nothing, she looked between him, the melted monsters and the paper bag still held in her claws. Eventually, she slumped against the wall and slid down to the ground.

She looked across at him in defeat. "Okay... s-so what did you have in mind?"

"I want to finish what you started."

Her eyes went wide. "Th-the determination experiments...? No, no no. That research was a dead end, s-starting it up again would only cause more things to go wrong!"

"Don't worry." He reassured. "I'll make sure we don't make the same mistakes as you did last time."

Despite how hopelessly resigned she'd looked a moment ago, Alphys shook her head. "N-no." She said stubbornly. "I won't risk it!"

Even with the risk of her secret coming out, she was still too afraid to try and fix her mistakes? "Y'know, I wonder what Undyne would think if she ever found out about how you gave in trying after messing up..." He coaxed.

Alphys frowned. "U-Undyne?... W-who's that?"

Oh, of course, they hadn't met each other yet! "Asgore, then." He corrected quickly.

Alphys scrunched up her eyes. The melted monsters looked between her and Flowey but didn't say a word, gradually they backed away to the walls as if to spectate.

"Okay... b-but under one condition." Alphys said finally, putting on a faulty air of confidence as she pulled herself to her feet once more. "No more injecting d-determination into anything. We will have to find another way."

Flowey smiled broadly and nodded. "Agreed."

He didn't want that can of worms opened up again anyway; more than enough monsters and... uh... 'other' had suffered from the reckless use of that substance. The research itself should still have some value though... at least, he had to hope so.

"G-good, well..." Alphys stood clutching the paper bag to her chest awkwardly, her eyes darting between the faces of each monster in the room. "I need to go now... b-but i'll be back later!" She handed the bag to the closest monster and hurried out the door.

While the melted monsters dug through its contents and the scent of noodles permeated the air, Flowey watched Alphys leave. Of all the monsters in the Underground, she may yet be his biggest challenge. But no matter how much he hated her... and he really did... she was also his best hope. Maybe they could redeem each other...

Everyone deserved a second chance, right?

He smiled at that spark of hope as the scientist's tail vanished past the door-frame of the room beyond, then movement caught his eye. He turned to find a mirror, reflecting a shelf of slime-covered golden flowers on the other side of the room. There were no monsters here.

Huh, weird. Oh well, it was probably just his imagination...


	26. Tests

-ENTRY NUMBER 17: monsters' physical forms can't handle "determination" like humans' can. with too much determination, our bodies begin to break down. everyone's melted together...- This was as far as Alphys had managed to record.

Flowey frowned at the information terminal as he tried to digest everything he'd just read. She called them 'amalgamates', composite creatures formed from the remains of several monsters each. There were documents on every monster taken in as part of the experiments. Having checked over the contact details for the victim's families, Flowey noticed a lot of names he recognized. Some things made a whole lot more sense now.

A quiet clattering of glass announced Alphys' arrival. She didn't look at him as she crossed the room and set down a tray of empty vials onto the work surface.

"We're nearly set." She said quietly. "I only need to collect the sample now, then we can..." She didn't finish her sentence.

Flowey could tell that she didn't really believe in her ability to succeed; her shoulders slumped, her feet dragged and her claws had shaken while setting up the equipment for their experiments. Whether she thought the research was hopeless, or was just too afraid of messing up further, he wasn't sure.

"B-but i'll wait until you've caught up on reading." She said finally, looking sheepish.

Flowey shook his head. "I'm done, lets start." He'd skipped over the equations, but looked at everything else at least briefly.

Alphys seemed taken aback. "Oh... okay. I'll- I'll just go get the sample... then." She hurried out the room, but slowed again once outside.

Flowey considered calling her back to take him with her, but a couple of her notes had triggered his curiosity. He scrolled down to a folder labeled 'Historical Accounts'. He'd skimmed through this folder briefly before, but wanted to look again properly. It contained written accounts from monsters who'd encountered humans in the Underground, as well as a few old surface myths. A message inside warned that these recordings shouldn't be used in serious research, and should only be considered speculation; it was clear that Alphys only compiled these for their connection to humans. In fact, he'd almost dismissed them just as she had.

He re-opened a scattering of records and began to read.

-August 23rd, 2027

Report of Guardsman Y. Vern

Human spotted just outside the Waterfall dump at around 1500 hours. Swooped down to engage but it dodged away from my attack. I came in for a second engagement, but the bugger dived into a patch of seagrass and got away. Who knew these things had such fast reflexes?! I've searched Waterfall top to bottom for the past four hours and found neither hide nor hair of the blighter. A message has been sent to Hotland, hopefully one of the guards over there can finally pin it down.

PS. Captain Gerson, can I please be reassigned to Hotland? There's barely enough room to stretch my wings in this godawful labyrinth!-

...

-February 17th, 2042

Report of Guardsman H. Centrida

Spotted a human outside the old city at 9:37pm. It was smaller than I'd expected it to be, must have been a child. When I approached it, it didn't show any fear, but it didn't try to fight back either. It just sighed and held out its arm for me to take. It didn't even look me in the eye! I bet that little brat thought I wasn't worth the time! Well, I just delivered it to the king. Who's laughing now, eh punk?-

... He looked at the report for a good few seconds. Why would a human react like that? Sure, they sometimes did strange things... Chara had always been hard to predict... but just giving up?...

-June 5th, 2055

Report of Guardsman Doggerel

I spotted a human east of Snowdin town. But they ran away before I could take them down. I managed to sniff them out on the way to Waterfall. That's when they threw me a ball!

Ball ball ball! Ball ball ball!

Then they got away, but at least I got to play!-

"Oh, I-I thought you'd said you-"

Flowey spun around, Alphys was standing at the door holding a weighty looking metal container. "I was just double-checking something." He explained while minimizing the windows.

Alphys looked nervously at the terminal, then nodded as she crossed the room. She placed the container slowly and carefully down onto the table.

Flowey craned to get a better look. "Is that-"

"The d-determinaion. Yes." She cut in. "The substance is a-actually very unstable when outside of a host, it needs to be contained within a multi-layered vessel of titanium, lead, magical shielding and an absorbent packing material. It ended up taking a lot of trail and error to find the right c-combination to keep this DT sample from decomposing after a couple of hours like the other... samples... did..." Alphys looked away awkwardly.

Flowey hadn't picked up on most of what she'd just said during her rambling, but it didn't seem to be all that important. He looked at the container for a few seconds. "So that thing's mostly layers?"

"Yes."

The container wasn't very large, maybe about the size of a basketball. "Do you have more stored away?"

"N-no. This is all that was left over."

He frowned, this wasn't very much to work with. Reloading after each experiment could allow them to try different tests each time without using up the sample... but Alphys would probably get stubborn and object to that. Well, unless he explained his powers to her, but he really didn't want to do that...

Alphys gently unclipped a pair of clasps on the sides and began unscrewing the top. Instruments clacked together gently as she worked, and Flowey felt the vibrations passing through the soil of his makeshift planter; her hands were shaking again. Slowly and carefully, she lifted away the lid - a hefty and very solid chunk of metal - and placed it down on the table. Finally, she removed the sample.

It was so small, a single test tube filled with red liquid. At least, it seemed to be a liquid? As the scientist's claws continued to quiver, the strange and slightly luminous substance sprayed upwards, forming shimmering clouds at the breach of each miniature wave crashing against the sides. It looked like the distilled essence of something powerful. Which it was.

Quiet chattering echoed from beyond the door. Alphys jolted slightly, but they both tried to ignore it. She pulled out the cork and poured a few drops of DT into an empty test tube, then placed the new vial into a device resembling a tiny washing machine set on its back.

"What's that?" Flowey asked curiously.

"I-it's a centrifuge. It's used for separating solutions into their component parts by-by applying a-" Alphys recoiled as more chatter and an ear-piercing screech cut of her explanation "It spins." She blurted, turning away from the noise.

She closed the lid, twisted a couple of dials and activated the machine. Flowey watched it hum away and start to vibrate gently. "How long will it take?"

"Only a few minutes." Alphys said, turning her attention to a set of connecting equipment on the table.

Two flasks were joined together by a tube, one held higher than the other with a set of clamps. A metal object connected to the wall by a pipe sat beneath the raised flask; Flowey remembered seeing something like that at school once, but had never gotten to use one himself. A pair of pipes connected to the tube and snaked across the floor to the sinks on the other side. Seemed kinda hazardous... but he assumed that she knew what she was doing.

Alphys was about to pour a few drops into the raised flask when a thought occurred to him. "This looks like school lab equipment." Alphys winced. "If this is basic school stuff, then why haven't you done these tests before?" ... Or had she done them before? Was she just humoring him, taking him round in circles so she could say that she tried, then never have to touch the research again?

Alphys sputtered for a response, but more amalgamate chatter interrupted anything she were about to say. She finished up pouring the DT into the flask, then rushed over to the sinks and turned the water on.

"Th-these are very important tests. You will see." She said while twisting a switch on the wall, then pulled out a gun-like tool and set the top of the metal object alight.

He was about to ask what each thing were called when another unearthly screech cut through his thoughts. The bird-like amalgamate burst through the door and made a beeline for the sinks.

"No! No! no n n..." Alphys spun around to grab at the melted monster and swept her arm out across the table.

Her elbow made contact with the carefully set up apparatus, causing it to collapse into a heap. Shattered glass scattered across the table and floor, while the flames she'd just lit spread onto her sleeve and began climbing up her lab-coat.

In a fit of panic, she dropped the DT sample and stripped away her coat, throwing it to the ground and making meek attempts to stomp out the fire.

Everything had gone wrong so quickly... it was almost impressive. it would have been comedic, if Flowey hadn't been acutely aware of the determination now leaking into the cracks around the floor-tiles. Completely wasted.

The amalgamate - seemingly oblivious to the trouble it'd just caused - drank deeply from the far basin as Alphys slowly, raggedly, regained her composure. "W-well. That's that, then." She said, looking almost relieved in her mildly scorched Mew mew T-shirt.

Flowey frowned. "Can't we get more?"

She shook her head. "Th-that's not possible. The souls were already severely weakened by the time I returned them, t-taking them back for more testing would only cause them to shatter. I told the king never to take them out again... not unless he was going to use them himself."

Having finished its drink, the amalgamate wandered back through the room, pulling out the pipes from the sink as it went. Water and slime trickled onto the floor, mingling into a swampy sludge. As if to complete the disaster.

Flowey sighed. "Okay."

As Alphys stumbled away - presumably to collect a mop and bucket - Flowey pulled himself into the time-frozen void. When had he last saved again...? It was after he'd made that agreement with the scientist... he knew that much.

 _Continue?_

 _Yes._

"D-do you need any help? Using a computer, I mean. I-It's just you don't have any hands so I-I wasn't sure if-"

"It's fine." He said quickly. He was back in the lab, inside the same planter right after Alphys had set it up for him. This all happened only a few hours ago, not too much time wasted then... what a relief.

"Okay, i-if you're sure." She said with a weak smile before starting to walk away.

And he'd have to wait out this whole long, slow set up again, great...

"Wait." She stopped rigid. "Can I come with you?"

She turned around, eyes wide with confusion. "I-I thought you said you wanted to re-"

"I changed my mind. I think If we both go, we could set up twice as fast!"

"I-I don't see how that's going to work."

Flowey rolled his eyes. "Hold out your arm. To me." Alphys reluctantly obliged, and Flowey wound himself around her sleeves. He snaked his way up her arm until his head was resting over her right shoulder. It wasn't a pleasant position, she shook like a leaf and stank of sweat. "See." He said, flexing his roots in front of her. "Now we can both carry things!"

She nodded hesitantly, still looking very unsure, but unwilling to complain. "O-okay then."

Her fear was palpable as she led the way through the lab. It hung over them like a dark stormy cloud. Constant, unyielding. It made her compliant, but if what he'd just witnessed was anything to go by, not competent. That whole mess could have been avoided if she'd just stayed calm... he was starting to doubt whether he was going to get anywhere with Alphys like this.

She pulled aside a sliding door disguised as a mirror and started picking up pieces of equipment, then handed a couple of the smaller items to Flowey. A flask on a higher shelf wobbled loose and smashed against the floor, sending the scientist stumbling backwards.

Alphys cringed and muttered curses under her breath before pushing the door shut again and starting back. Yeah... they weren't getting anywhere like this.

* * *

 **I want this story to be good and not feel rushed, so i'm taking a breather to regain some confidence and think up ideas.**


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